i've always had manuals but driven autos.
having sold my car i've borrowed a low power bmw 318 auto
even the low power, i do enjoy the ease of the auto
driven a R32 DSG and loved it, but not many in my price bracket.
i had a good go in it, and can't see myself even in a sporty dsg use the paddle shifts often to be honest, but at least it is there when required.
i can see the dsg taking away the fun of left foot clutch and going through the gearbox H pattern box though, even if the dsg is superb in it's own right.
was there a true auto i.e. non multitronic on the a4?
i can see you wanting more fun, alot of good deals on st, vxr, cabriolet etc.
for out right fun i think i would choose the st, but for a balance of everything if i could choose i would have the cab ;-)