XE

Make
Jaguar
Segment
Sedan

The death of the manual gearbox is pretty much inevitable. BMW has gotten rid of it for three of its models, Porsche has gotten rid of it with its purebred sportscar, the GT3, and the only brand that offers manual transmission on all of its vehicles is Mini. From all of this sad news, the manual gearbox looks like it'll be forgotten sooner than we want it to. However, Jaguar (out of all brands) has come to save the day and maybe even automotive culture. That's because the new Jaguar XE will offer a manual transmission in the US!

The transmission of joy will be offered on the entry-level 2017 Jaguar XE that's powered by the turbocharged 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine. This is big news because we wouldn't expect the manual transmission to be in a Jag. However, the fact that the British automaker put the manual gearbox in its new entry-level model means that Jaguar has lots of confidence in its upcoming XE lineup. This will help increase XE sales by a lot, giving BMW drivers a run for their money. Also, with the performance version of the XE on its way, Jaguar might really be able to topple the BMW M3. Who knows? Maybe the next relatively small, fun four-door saloon might not be a BMW but a Jaguar.