Totally agree. After driving an automatic for years in the US, I came back to the UK and had to hire a manual for a week. Even though I learned in a manual it was a horrible experience. Hill starts are a nightmare, and you're driving with all your arms and feet, like an octopus. After that, my wife, who had learned to drive in the US and had to do the UK test, opted just to take the automatic test, passing in just a few lessons.