Hi Dave...welcome to the Forum
Decisions, decisions! Tough one to advise on, but if it was me I would go with the Diesel (if your journeys allow the extended use of a diesel engine to keep it clean and running well) and the paddle shift transmission on the later cars seem to be quite reliable but then so is a manual (except for potential Dual Mass Flywheel failure).
Your decision but I would look at the journeys you are making and decide on the engine/transmission combination accordingly.
Let us know how you get on with your decision.
Cheers Trevor