I've never really been too keen on auto's, i've always thought of dsg as being a grand that I don't need to spend. However given VAG's increasing reluctance to offer it's more potent engines with a manual box, it surely won't be too long before we're all driving automatics. So i'll probably cave in eventually and end up with some engine or other paired with a dsg, and steering wheel paddles.
Leases have generally gone up across the board over the last 18 months or so. There's the odd decent offer on R's every now and then, but generally speaking the better deals tend to be on the estate version rather than the hatch.