I have been a stick guy for years, but my wife doesn't like them. So, in my mind, the A8 would be an acceptable solution for me, but even more so if I could run it like a DSG and (maybe?) flip a switch so it goes full auto if my wife needed to drive it. Like if we road trip the car as I hope to, we could share the driving duties more easily.
Seems I've heard the BMW crowd has really taken to the DSG now. This seems like it would function the same way, so it would be a neat option for something close to the same without a ton of money.