I had a 2003 330ci with a manual and previous to that, had a 1999 BMW 328i manual. I too thought I was tired of the manual. Part of my problem with the BMW manual was the long travel on the clutch combined with my lack of height! So, a couple of years ago I had a hankering for a 4-seater German retractable hard top convertible and traded in the BMW for a VW Eos. At the time, the Eos couldn't be had with a manual tranny. My Eos does have the really cool Audi/VW DSG gearbox -- if you're going to have an automatic, this is widely considered to be one of the best. It also has paddle shifters, although they are a bit small and hard to use.

All that being said, I miss having a manual transmission almost EVERY time I drive! I don't drive much in heavy traffic and husband also likes a manual, so I have none of the issues mentioned here with why a manual might be a problem. So, I'm going back to a manual with my Clubman S. I find the MINI manual transmission a joy to drive. A nice snick-snick and short travel on the clutch.

 

I knew in my heart of hearts that a manual transmission would be more fun than an automatic, but I drive ~75 miles/day to work in what is often stop and go traffic (Springfield, MA/Hartford, CT). I could see it being a shift fest, and couldn't bear that thought. Considering the commute is the majority of my driving, it just didn't make sense to go manual.

 

I love my Automatic. The paddle shifters are great too (or you can "bump shift" using the "stick" by pusing it over to the left and then bump it up and down for shifting. .. kinda cool).

 

I guess another way I'm looking at it is that since I don't mind shifting manually, if I want a (roughly) 10% mileage hit, I'd go for 17 inch wheels and tires for the grin factor.