I want a station wagon for the cargo capacity and the fact that it drives like a car–and I love the TSX Sportwagon. But I also must have a manual–I just can’t drive those fussy automatics! Will Acura ever add a manual (clutch, not “paddle shifters” please!) or is there an equivalent car out there that I haven’t found yet? I really don’t want to pay more than about $35K for a car, so BMW, Mercedes, and others like them are out. I’ve been looking into the Subaru Outback, but every model year that one gets more like an SUV and less like a wagon…
Doubtful. You’re a very rare customer - one who wants a wagon AND a manual transmission. You’d be hard-pressed to find very many more customers out there like you, which means mating a manual to the wagon would be a money-losing proposition for Acura.
That said, the TSX sedan with manual and the TSX sport wagon use the same engines, so if you’re really loaded and willing to atrociously overpay for the car, you could probably convince someone to do the swap for you. At that point, however, you might as well get a Porsche and save some money 
Have you looked at the WRX 5 door? You can get the STI version for right at $35 or so, and it comes with a 6 speed manual. It’s not a true wagon, but it’s a hatch back with decent cargo capacity.
Things are headed in the opposite direction, so I really doubt they’d add a manual trans. model. There’s also the Forester with the 5 speed manual, not the turbo, unfortunately. There’s the Jetta wagon.
Yes, I’ve been looking at the WRX and also the Jetta Sportwagon. My husband doesn’t want a VW and I’m not keen on the “leatherette” seating for the Jetta, though. Also I’ve read they use the Golf chassis so it’s actually smaller in the cabin than a regular Jetta. I wish I were loaded enough to buy the Mercedes E350–it’s got that traditional 3rd row seat (but only comes in auto). We could technically afford the BMW but I’d be afraid to leave the driveway with it. Thanks for the swap advice though–I might check on that…
As he said, you’ll end up spending Porsche money to swap. It may not even be possible, depending on your inspection requirements. Another (small) option is the Audi A3, does have the turbo 4/ manual tranny combination.
And BMW no longer imports the 3 series wagon, it’s been replaced by the X3.
Yeah, that was very tongue in cheek. I’m sure it’s possible to do a tranny swap, but that would involve a pedal swap, a computer swap, interior trim swap, shift lever swap, and a bunch of other crap. And might even involve some custom work if the dimensions are different in critical areas between the wagon and the normal car. I’d be surprised if you got out of there for less than 20 grand, JUST for the swap, and that’s being very generous in assuming you’ll get a good deal on the replacement transmission and can sell the automatic transmission for a decent price.
The Forester is a good idea–I did not realize that comes in manual. It will probably come down to Outback vs Forester. I keep hoping that if I wait the next model year will have what I want but it never happens.
Yeah, I’ve been researching swapping an automatic for a manual and it’s not worth it and mostly not possible. I’ve almost considered importing a manual diesel wagon from Europe–they’re all over over there–but again, price prohibits. The good thing is I think I can bargain down a dealer on a manual because of low resale.
Here’s one I almost missed - the new Mazda CX-5 comes with fwd and a manual, no sports wagon, but might be worth a look.
Mazda 3?
Something else you might consider is the trouble of reselling the car someday equipped with a manual transmission.
A buddy of mine bought a new Scion tC a few years back, and he insisted on one with a manual transmission. Turns out it had to be special ordered from Japan and it took a few weeks to get over here. He eventually had to sell it because his wife couldn’t drive a stick, and he had trouble finding a buyer for the car as well because of the transmission. So that’s double trouble, really.
It’s fine to be passionate about your car, but a sprinkle of rationality and forethought never hurt anyone. Good luck.
I’ve test driven the Mazda CX-5, and I find it to be a fantastic vehicle.
Only problem with it here in the US is if you want the manual transmission, your are locked in to buying one that is Black, Grey, or Silver.
If you lived in Canada, you can get it in those three, plus Red, White, and Blue.
If you lived in the UK, you can get it with either gas engine or two diesel engines, and any color you wanted, of which are two different blues to choose from, plus the red white, black, grey, and silver.
The only reason why I haven’t bought one is that I can’t get it in red.
If I was willing to buy an automatic, I can choose any color I want, but because I insist on only wanting to own and drive manuals, they won’t let me have the color I want. Doesn’t make any sense at all.
BC.
You could buy a Certified Pre-Owned 2010 or 2011 BMW 3-series wagon. Factory-authorized CPO cars are the best of the cars that cross the BMW dealer’s lot. They don’t have to do as much to them to get them up to snuff to meet the factor CPO requirements. And BMW is the most reliable of the luxury brands tracked alone.