I too regret getting steptronic. I really miss "being in control" of my car.
My main reason for going with an auto transmission was I thought I would get fed up with stop and go traffic. But after having driven 2 years of boring steptronic, I realize I would be a lot happier with a manual transmission, and that rush hour traffic wouldn't even be annoying at all.
However, on the bright side, you and I definitely know what we're going to get for our next car!
