I'm going to have to disagree as well, I have had my (stock) '12 V6 6-speed on several long, twisty back roads in northern Arizona and the Colorado Rockies, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it! My favorite drive thus far has to be a 400+ mile loop I took with a friend of mine last summer starting in south Denver, up through the mountains to I-70 near the pass, then north through Winter Park and Trail Ridge Road (>12,000 feet) and finally back down the hill into Longmont. My buddy was driving a 1988 BMW M3 (one of the most storied driver's cars of all time, and a full 1000 lbs lighter than our 'Stangs), and I had no problem keeping up through the twisties

Never once did the shifter seem to "get in the way" so to speak, and there were several enthusiastic downshifts into 2nd when driving hard into a switchback. Maybe it's because I've never driven many other manuals on a daily basis, but IMHO this shifter is pretty well-behaved if you trust the internal springs. Maybe I should try the MGW someday though...