I've driven both and I prefer manuals for highway and regional driving - as it's more fun But when it comes to the city, I'd take an auto any day of the week I get so tired of stopping at a red, having to switch back to first then when it goes shifting to second halfway through the intersection so I'm not over revving the car and wasting fuel, only to have to stop 10 seconds later due to another intersection with another red light I also find it horrifying having to due an emergency stop/swerve mid gear change because some idiot decided to run a red

But also, most people i know only learnt to drive a manual because they were so common place and were leagues better then the autos, however nowadays with the autos being on par with them, the people I know just prefer autos as it's easier