i know, sorry to disappoint guys. i got the auto for a number of small reasons. firstly, its quicker than the manual. secondly i drive in stop start peak hour traffic for at least two hours every day. thirdly, i broke my wrist a couple of years ago and couldn't drive a manual.
whilst its not the same thing, i use the steering wheel mounted paddle shifts most of the time which is more fun than the standard auto.
fyi, some of the performance mods i have done include a turbo back exhaust and ecu tune. this added more than 100Nm of torque and my previous peak power now comes in about 55km/h earlier to a range where i regularly use it.
its my first subi (and awd/4wd) and i don't think that i would go anything different in the future