Another area not to be overlooked is the precision of the mechanism. Many shifters, particularly cable operated ones, tend to be very sloppy or difficult to use. One should not have to fight to get the transmission in gear or wonder what gear one is actually going to get. Balky, vague, difficult to use- not what a shifter should be. A very precise shifting car would be the likes of a Porsche, or even the 5th generation Nissan Z-Car.
Some cars are just complete failures when it comes to the shifter department.
As I mentioned, cable operated units like in the Dodge Daytona are terrible. Hondas, particularly Accords, are too smooth and lifeless. Some are just plain stupid, like the first to fourth protocol on current Camaros, Firebirds and Corvettes. As I said above, BMWs and Porsches have great shifters, but need shorter throws. The current Toyota Supra has a fine shifter on it- not much to gripe about there.