With these vehicles, handling is up to the Nut Behind the Wheel. At SM, while I was definitely not the fastest driver there, not one of the 4BW's could keep up with the drivers in the fastest grp -- who were all in a 5BW. (Not even the fastest in an auto 4BW could best my time in the 5BW 6MT.) If you know how to drive, you can learn to get the most out of any vehicle. On paper, the 5BW is a more capable vehicle than the 4BW. One might prefer one over the other but hands down, a capable driver will get around most any road course or twisty road faster in the 5 over the 4.