Hi Will,
I, on occasion prefer to drive a manual, however the D3 auto for me is a good alternative, plus all the fruit gets to work to its true potential. Buying things so rare presents a whole raft of its own problems. I'm not sure if the D3 manual box is smaller and lighter than the D3 auto box but I wouldn't want to be taking that out on a regular basis. I'm sure the is a heavy duty clutch, however I'm not sure how much travelling you are planning to do but if you are think of the fix in anything but the metro area.

I suspect that in maybe 20 to 30 years the rarity value will kick in to a point.......... personally I would invest in an auto, and have done.