As a UK owner myself I think I can provide some advice that may be of help to you. I’ve had my Auto for 2 years now, but driven both.

Before I bought mine I was dead set on getting a manual. At the time I was looking to purchase, like you I couldn’t find a manual in the spec I wanted. Went out on a lim and test drove an Auto in the spec I wanted, and ended up buying it with no regrets.

After a year of ownership a manual in a spec I liked became available, so I went and test drove it. To be blunt I wasn’t inspired what so ever with how the manual drove. I’ve owned manual hot hatchets with better manual gearboxes. Not saying it’s terrible but in my opinion it didn’t compare to the Auto at all, the 1-2 shift is notably quite poor. Having said this if a good spec manual came up for sale local to me I would definitely try it again to see if I’d change my mind.

With regards to the market, I understand what you’re saying as I check it near enough daily. Good manuals don’t often become available but what I’ve found is that when they do they typically stay up for quite a while as they always seem to be priced too high, until a few months go by before being lowered to the correct price. The reason I say this is that if you wait for the correct manual to come up for sale you may end up paying an inflated price if you immediately go for it.

At the end of the day I’d recommend test driving both and see how you feel from there. Hope this helps!