Tranny choices for the "S"

[bmwbob]

IIRC, prior to the BMW era, the auto tranny for the Mini was somewhat problematic. Wasn't it an (unsuccessful) attempt at a CVT?
We have a CVT in our Prius, and at 81K miles, so far so good.
We test drove an "S" with the 6 speed auto and paddle shifters, and it seemed positively sporting, if you wanted to drive it that way.
Seeing that my wife will be the primary driver of the car, and she is NO "hot rodder", other than the 2 mpg mileage penalty, and the extra weight and cost of the auto, is there any other reason NOT to favor it over the manual?
Would there be a significant negative impact on the resale/trade value of an "S" because it had an auto?
My Element is a 5 speed manual which allows us to tow it with all 4 wheels on the ground behind the motor home. We have access to a car dolly if we wanted to tow the Mini.
Bob

[bad venge]

The early autos were problematic and were mega pricey to replace,
The second gen were redesigned and seem to be very solid , my wifes clubbie as automatic and under 10k so no real tracking on it.
KBB shows pretty similar trade in values