Have only directly been to one Nissan dealer and talking to two others, who are now dropping their prices I think to bring me in to test drive.

Hopefully they will let you thoroughly test it. I have one road near my house that every test drive goes down. Not one local dealer has ever objected and it's 5 miles from the nearest dealer and 10+ from most.

Ok, just got back from driving a 09 touring with sport package, 6spd. The 09 has such a light clutch and a super smooth 6 spd. It makes my 09 STI shifter feel really notchy and the clutch heavy as hell. Which is surprising to me because my 05 350z 6spd's clutch was even heavier and stiffer than the 09 STI and in traffic was a heavy ***/stiff mother of a clutch. I would dread days when I was stuck in L.A. traffic with it, but the 09 6spd is soooo easy to live with. It is a no-brainer folks, save yourselves the dinero on an auto and get a manual. The clutch is super light and super short travel.

This test drive did it for me. I was on the fence about maybe going with an automatic, maybe even getting a base with sport and auto to save some money, but the choice is pretty clear. Base or Touring, get the manual. You will not find an easier clutch/shifter combo on any other vehicle.

On a side note, the synchro rev match feature was, eh, nice to have, but if it is not offered, would not be a deal killer.