[CoupedUpSubie]

Just like others have said, the car is still pretty new. Once you have broken it in you can open it up a bit more. I stayed under 4000 rpm(for the most part) until around 600 miles, then brought it up a bit more occasionally until I was getting near redline getting up to speed.

When taking off the key is to never let the engine go below 1000 rpms or so. If I want to take off smooth that is about where it hovers until the clutch is engaged. Shifting into second seems to be easier at over 4k rpms in my car, my impreza was the same way(the transmissions aren't even the same manufacturer but reviews on the fwd trans was that it was knotchy).

My break-in period lead to many rough shifts, and I had been driving cars and trucks with manual transmissions for 6 years before I got my BRZ.