I completely agree. Now, here's my disclaimer: I have only ever owned automatics. I have driven manuals and enjoyed the control they give you over the power delivery vs. an auto, but I never really got comfortable with them. I'm sure if I owned one eventually I'd get used to it and prefer it, but for now, I don't. That said, this is hands down the best auto I've ever had. I had a 2001 Prelude auto with the selectable auto, but it was slow and clunky for the most part (not to mention I had to get it rebuilt twice
).
I love how the FR-S has the Sport mode, which "almost" feels like a manual with the way the gears lock and the rev-matched downshifts. The paddles are a ton of fun when using the manual mode as well. But going back to the OP's point: the thing I love the most is that I don't have to take my hands off the wheel and I can just concentrate on the road ahead. Makes me much more confident when blasting around tight corners. Also, it's nice to be able to just leave it in granny mode when I'm just running errands and want a little more fuel efficiency.