we just test drove 2 1.8ltr. '09s . The automatic and the 5 speed . Liked both . She had easy time with the clutch as well . Both rode quite well . We would only buy the 1.8 for the gas mileage and its dependability . We've had 2 PRIZMs ( '99 and '00 ) , a '99 Corolla , and '03 MATRIX with automatic . The '03 MATRIX w/ auto got about 33 m.p.g. overall . The 5 speed manual PRIZM averaged around 35 m.p.g.. Good Luck