I have the manual in my 16 Mustang GT and it's fun, but the 10 speed in my husband's Ranger is great too. I used to think I would never want to drive an automatic before that, but Ford's 10 speed is pretty damn nice. So while it would be cool to see a 2.7 Bronco with a stick I'm not too...
I'm in the same boat. I want some ground clearance to "conquer" midwest snow but would rather drink bleach than drive a unibody crossover. The basic 4x4 stuff looks very capable to the Ranger (good enough) and having heated seats is pretty nice, so I reserved the Outer Banks trim.