It seems it's just luck of the draw. I drove an 02 S and it was smooth as silk, mine is notchy and kinda imprecise.

my 02 6 speed is butter! just put 1100 miles on minneapolis and back. I show no mercy on second lots of toll booths, it's the only time to get the speed fix, you know lots of merging. hehe. btw 48,000 miles.

Under two grand isn't really flying, heading into a turn, carrying speed and down shifting can be tough on the tranny in certain situations. I'm also talking about when you are coming to a stop anyway not lugging the engine in low rpms, you could be coasting, using the brakes and saving fuel.

PS We had a 1936 Fiat Simca with suicide doors, double clutching wasn't optional.