To be fair, if it was an auto he test drove it might have felt sluggish. The dealers also only use crap 87 octane which does not help either.
Autos do 'feel' slow, they try to get into 6th gear and lock the converter as soon as possible and they dont downshift very quick. But at a dragstrip they do very well, but they dont jump all around and spin the tires like power shifting a manual thats for sure.