I have driven a manual s3 and a st and I know what you mean in terms of performance difference, only dsg I have driven is a r32 which we all know is a slouch anyway so that don't count. I would get on with the dsg if I drove it like I stole it everywhere but it's going to be the family car so that won't happen to often.

Maybe I will have a drive of 1 before I buy something tho.