Canadians opt for manual transmissions more often than Americans

Authored by driving.ca and submitted by aerospacemonkey

It depends on the model, but for some cars offered with three pedals, it seems Canadians are more likely to go for the stickshift than Americans are.

Even so, the numbers across all models point to a relatively low take-rate for modern manual transmissions, which means an increasing number of vehicles – even sports cars – aren’t being offered with them.

According to publication CarBuzz, Americans have us beat on the Mazda MX-5 Miata, at least when it comes to the soft-top version.

South of the border, about 76 per cent of buyers of the little convertible opt for a stickshift. In comparison, Mazda Canada reports only 58.2 per cent of Canadians prefer to shift for themselves with that model.

However, we take a slight lead with the MX-5 RF, which has a retractable hardtop that basically turns it into a coupe when it’s closed. Only 52 per cent of Americans bought that one with a stick, while 58.3 per cent of Canadians did.

Among some of Mazda’s other offerings, the last-generation 2018 Mazda3 saw 13.6 per cent of buyers opt for the stick, and 21 per cent for the Mazda3 Sport. The all-new 2019 Mazda3 has only been on sale for a couple of months, but so far, the company reports rates of 7.4 per cent stick for the Mazda3, and 13.3 per cent for the Mazda3 Sport. The CX-3 comes in at just 2 per cent built with clutch and shifter.

But when it comes to the Toyota 86, we beat the Americans hands down. CarBuzz reported only 33 per cent of American buyers ordered a manual transmission in it. In Canada? We’re not shiftless—69 per cent of Toyota 86 buyers here opted for the stickshift.

FourierT on May 19th, 2019 at 13:35 UTC »

I've always wanted to drive manual, but thanks to Toronto traffic I don't.

greenrees on May 19th, 2019 at 13:12 UTC »

I never doubted Canadians have more standards

Edit: s for canadianS

jontss on May 19th, 2019 at 13:10 UTC »

Too bad there are so few options these days. Especially if you don't want the base model of something with a crap engine and only 2wd.