Quote Originally Posted by REF84 View Post
I do have a question though, for those who learned manual after automatic, when did it click for you and become 'fun'? I just got the car and have maybe driven it a dozen times, but hill starts and starting from first/going slow still feel awkward, I still have to look down sometimes to know what gear I'm in and shifting smoothly/rev matching is pretty difficult. It just sort of feels like work and like I don't know how to drive haha. Especially in NJ traffic where everyone is mashing the gas in their 300+ HP SUVs, and they all want to slam their brakes and ride your bumper in stop-and-go traffic. I would love to get to the point where I'm rev matching every downshift and can pull away from first quickly, but driving manual just sort of gives me anxiety.
I will mirror everyone and say it comes with time. You're probably better off than where I started. I stalled out over and over in a parking lot. I think the problem was from just getting used to using my left leg to provide input.

A dozen drives is still pretty fresh, so things will be a bit awkward. But focus on the basics first and then you can do rev-matching. Definitely get a feel for starting in 1st and where each gear is. I think the easiest rev-match to start with is the fourth to third gear shift when coming to a stoplight or similar situation, as you just have to move the knob forward and only have to increase the revs a small bit at the usual speeds.