[matlough]

I personally would say that I did not notice a huge difference in driving the demo Auto and now owning a manual. I also think that there is always a perceived speed difference in driving auto then manual of any car.

The best thing you can do is go and test drive the manual... if you can't get a new demo then try searching for a used one for sale and demo that. Looking on the BMW website it seems that Doncaster have one for sale.