I'd really like a manual but one thing worries me.
Ages ago in the UK I had a Rover SD1 saloon car. Super nice vehicle; it had a 3.5L alloy V8. Unfortunately to deal with the power the clutch was a brute. Lots of leg force required to depress it.
Driving in London I had the clutch up and down so often because of the stop-start traffic, that after 8 months or so I began limping, because my left hip was getting worn out because of the damn clutch.
How heavy is the Maxima clutch?

 

its really not all that bad, although it does have an extremely long throw compared to a couple other cars i have driven

 

Do you know if that car you drove had a cable clutch? With that much force, I'd think it probably did. Have you ever driven a manual with a hydraulic clutch like the Maximas have?

Nowhere near as tough as a cable clutch, but depends on the car, really. I remember driving a late-80's (I think) S10 with no power steering and a cable clutch, and it was tough as hell to keep that clutch down. Then again I've driven a 92 Sentra that had a cable clutch but was very easy and fun to drive.

Back off the tangent, a Maxima's clutch isn't exactly going to cause you to limp like your old Rover did.

 

Cool.
The Rover had a hydraulic clutch, it was quite modern in every respect. But the clutch was just too heavy. If the Max clutch is long travel, that's one of the things that makes it lighter, I should think. Good news for me.

 

yeah after driving it and getting used to it, sometimes i get paranoid and think that my slave cylinder is dying, because it almost feels too light sometimes, like there is no resistence, but then i push it down with my right foot and it feels normal again

 

My wife drives my 02 6sd in traffic with no problem.