I haven't driven a manual tranny car in a while. The last being a 540i. However, when test driving a 98 Maxima SE today, I noticed what I would consider unsual behaviour from the clutch.

There is about 8" of total travel of the clutch pedal from top to floor. When at a complete stop, you must floor the clutch, and release VERY slowly. If you release beyond 2" off the floor, without already getting on the gas, it stalls. However, when shifting between all other gears in motion, you only need to go down about 4" from the top.

I didn't notice this on the 540i. On the 540i, you had about 4" of travel off the floor with the clutch before you needed to get on the gas, ergo, you didn't have to floor it to get it in gear. And it was a LOT smoother going into gear from a dead stop. Similarly, I only had to go about 4" into the clutch to shift between gears.

Is this a problem with the car, or is it just me being REALLY rusty with manual cars?

I know this isn't a Volvo question, but a manual tranny question, so I appologize. But if anyone can help, I would really appreciate it.