You and I are thinking alike about the tranny. And my dealer made an interesting point - the auto is 6 speed, while the manual will be 5. Because of the gear range on the auto, there is very little variation in mpg between the two - least that's how the VW salesmen felt.

I played with the tranny a little on the test drive. I'm mostly interested in being able to downshift (to save brakes) in mountainous terrain (West Virginia) which I travel in frequently... I made it 110K on my Nissan Murano before the first set, and didn't even have to turn the rotors. The Murano had a CVT which allowed flexibility in shifting. To compare, my Impala which is very awkward to downshift (and therefore I rarely do) required brakes at 50K.

I am VERY anxious to get the new Jetta. It strikes me as a vehicle that will be "fun" to drive, cheap to maintain, and very reliable.