Back when mustangs used gasoline and were sports cars, I compared a V6 (non-turbo) manual with a V8 automatic. The V6 was much more fun to drive and got better fuel economy.
My tiny ultra-efficient EV blows them both out of the water on mountain roads though.
There's one exception: the RWD EV's front end likes to skid while decelerating into turns. I prefer the Mustang's habit of breaking the rear end loose while accelerating out of turns.
There's definitely a difference in transmissions. I learned stick on a generic crappy car, but I once drove a nicer, more expensive car with a manual, and it was quite pleasant. Shifting gears was so much smoother than what I was accustomed to.
Honestly, my manual 97 Civic was so much more fun to drive than my current car (a Prius V).
I'm on board with it being a hybrid (though it actually gets roughly the same fuel economy on the highway) and especially happy with gas prices what they are now. But I don't think you need a sporty car to appreciate the torque you generate in a manual
it's very fun to row through the gears of a moderately sporty car; that's where people's "fetishm" (more accurately "preference") comes from