I’ve seen your thread on the software and most things are answered in there.
The stop start doesn’t bother me in the slightest but a lot of people dislike it.
Lane Assist however drives me nuts and is a mandatory “always on” feature on all new cars, but at least it’s easy to switch out on each ignition cycle using what we labelled the Brocky Method (left stalk tip press then ok on the R/H steering wheel pad). Like yourselves I drive a lot of rural roads and it’s a constant battle with lane assist when it’s activated.
I don’t use keyless as I find it annoying at times and having spent 30 odd years driving using a key and/or key fob it doesn’t bother me fishing a key out of my pocket, but I can sympathise with ladies who carry handbags having to dig through hundreds of essential items in their bags to retrieve the offending car key! Besides, if a feature is fitted to a car you would at least expect it to work properly.
You are far far from alone in criticism of certain features and faults with these cars. It’s not really what we’d expect from VW. The random messages and bongs from the sporadic dashboard warnings do seem to lessen over time for some strange reason.
I hope Pam soon settles down to life with an auto-box. Maybe her next car will be electric and the DSG is good practice as we head towards a future with no gearboxes at all.