I went to the Nissan dealership fully expecting to buy the 6MT. Told the dealer that I do quite a bit of driving in traffic and in San Francisco. He suggested I try the 5AT. I was a bit hesitant at first but tried it anyway. In the end, I bought the 5AT. Point is just keep an open mind and try both before you buy. Try to see if someone will teach you to drive a manual and go back and try both cars. As far as performance and mods go, I haven't seen any real world difference between the two. If you want to magazine race for 0.1s or 20hp thats up to you. I prefer to drive the car and find out for myself. I'm actually faster in the AT vs. the MT and I'm a fairly decent driver. Others are the opposite. Which ever Z you choose you can't go wrong. Good luck.