i think the s-tronic gearbox is great.... when your side by side with a manual it makes you realise just how much time you waste changing gear in a manual car - i don't regret getting it, the gearchange is impeccibly smooth, far smoother than you can ever get with a manual... however yes you do lose a little control not having a clutch, i'd rather have DSG fwd than manual 4wd as the diesel engine is quite tractable in my opinion as its not high revving power like the petrol - you don't actually have to floor the pedal to get the car to accelerate at a deceptive rate of knots, and you save a fair bit of fuel over the 4wd which is unecessary on a car with this amount of power