I did not / have not found this car difficult to drive, just different. I got right out of a 2000 Honda Civic Ex MT (Since 2001), into the Z (2012) and drove off the lot with no problem (no stalls). The Z has basically 3x the HP, which is one of the main reasons it feels different for me
This could have something to do with the method used when I was taught how to drive a manual transmission, and my dad never letting me forget that when girls are riding in the car, they don't want to feel you shifting gears...He parked in the middle of a hill in my neighborhood, told me when I could get up the hill, I could drive a manual trans, this was in a '98 4-Cylinder Ford Ranger...He's not a redneck haha.