Yeah, the seats are fantastic. I also know exactly what you mean about turning into the road with confidence- the ID.4 was the first EV I test drove and that feeling absolutely sold me on electric!
I never had the opportunity to drive a manual, so I don't really know what I'm missing I guess. Automatic transmission is the de facto standard here. I don't love the little gear shift on the PS and find having a separate parking button unintuitive, but it's still miles ahead of the cars with weird buttons or dials for shifting. I didn't mind the shifter on the ID.4 either, I learned to drive on a truck with a stalk gear shift like that.