Personally I think DSG is a must.
Ive only had my car about 2 months or so now, and love it. I'd never go back to manual unless I really had to!
Before, I used to have a manual car, and swore I would never touch an auto since it took the fun away from driving.
I thought long and hard before buying a DSG (didnt even test drive it!).
I love being able to cruise around in normal 'D' mode when in town etc. The fuel economy is also great when on a long run just in 'D'.
For the moment, Ive just been getting used to driving a slightly bigger car then I had before, so Ive mostly been in D. But now Im starting to try the manual mode with the paddles more and more, and its like a completely different driving experience.
I like to think of myself as being a responsible driver, so I dont whack it straight into 'S' and put my foot down!
As I said, Ive been getting used to the car in D. Im now starting to try the paddles an dget used to changing gears etc with normal driving - still in D since I have assistance if I forget to change down etc! TBH I mainly use the paddles to shift up for now, and am getting used to that first, so I keep it in D for now.
As I get used to it, I'll try driving completely in 'Manual' mode using the paddles. Once I get used to that I'll move it into 'S' with the paddles and give her a whirl
since for the moment Ive only really been using the kickdown feature when I want to move rapidly!
DSG is a great bit of kit. As people have said, if treated properly and serviced etc on time, I see no reason why it should fail. These boxes go through months of testing in extreme conditions by VW R&D. If they werent that reliable I dont think VW would release them and risk having their reputation tarnished!
A lot to get used to rather then driving in full 'D' all the time, and when you move onto driving with the paddles, its like a completely different experience all over again!
Hope I helped a little whatever your decision.