I love the manual too but they do vary. My first GTI on a 63 was not as precise as my current car, changing smoothly between first and second was not consistent but this did improve when I fitted a dogbone.
They do indeed vary a lot. Seems GTI/R gearboxes around 2015 were commonly a bit crap. My May 2015 R.had a very gravelly throw and an occasional reluctance to slot into 3rd from a higher gear and and also to slot into 1st from 2nd. I had it from day one and the dealerships wouldn't do anything to check out linkage adjustment or anything else. If it weren't for that and the very poor motorway mpg due to the very low gearing, I might still have it now (kept it 46 months). The clutch was also junk - it slipped on me a few times in coldish weather at around 23k miles, completely stock car.
DSG does make you lazy at the wheel. I now have a Polo GTI+ and it only comes in DSG variant. I did try to persevere using the box manually, but it isn't the same when it's not necessary to use it manually and it often overrides your wishes as throttle input trumps your selections when you haven't slotted the lever right over. Feathering in of the gears on a DSG change for smoothness make gear changes with full engagement a lot slower than would be ideal.
I'd rather have a manual box, if it worked properly - my GTD's manual box (and all the previous VWs owned) was silky smooth in comparison to my R's.
Couple DSG with ACC controlled motorway driving and the drive is so unengaging, I feel almost redundant as a driver.
