Sorry for reviving an older thread.
We have the ASG and I can honestly say that it does most of what is asked of it. I often use cars from work which are manual and are worth at least 18,000 euros more than myUPbut I swear to God I can feel my blood boiling shortly after waiting at traffic lights or crawling in town traffic, playing this silly clutch bitting point game drives my absolutely up the wall. Ok I love a manual when the road is clear, it would be my weapon of choice but when that road gets congested there is nothing more I want to do than to sit back, turn up the music, move the seat back a notch or two thentap the accellarator a few times now and then. For me the ASG in a car that I love is the only combination for a city car. I would have paid extra for a DSG if they made one. I was talking to my girlfriend yesterday about UPgrading to a POLO next year and getting the DSG and 2DIN Satnav option, either way a manual is out of the question for the reason I have already mentioned.
I too do wonder if those VW engineers will add a bit of sportiness to the way that the ASG responds.