Just starting a post so we can analyse the feedback and get the old brain cells thinking.
So what is better off road - auto or manual transmission?
What works best and where?

I'm getting old and soft so I like my auto in the Kick but I gotta say steep muddy descents, stock gearing and 33's makes it a little exciting. Fixed it though with some crawler gears and it's all good. I'm not going back to a manual. Love it for crawling and there's no problems changing gears mid-climb or during a water crossing plus I also feel it's gentler on the driveline.

I'd say, on road, manual because you can change gears any time you like. And Off road I'd like to try a auto, because sometimes when you go up a hill or need to have some speed before going up, a manual just can't do it because you'd have to shift on the hill or you wouldn't have enough speed (when you're leaving it in first gear). If you get what I try to say 

Better I don't think can be used very accurately here, Preferance with pro's and con's is what we'll probably hear.

 Personally I waffer between what I would like. 
 One I like the Manual a lot for the following reasons:
    Better/more efficiant power transfer
    more gears to find the right one
    able to play your RPM more
    Better control of vehicle
    No ATF leaks

I Love my Auto for the following:
    Simplicity (driving, not working on it) I.E... My wife can drive it
    Sand, Mud, and long steep hills, just seems to be able to handle the changes better
    starting, on a hill that I had no right stopping on in the first place
    Eating the biggest, sloppyest, burger I can find and still drive around like a fool

That a side I grew up in Sand and Sage brush, when I started driving my first Sami, it was a pain to get that little green guy up and going in the really deep stuff that plagued my home town.  Since then I've been a fan of the Auto's, just now with the fuel costs I would like the efficancy of the manual.

Utah

I think to a very large extent it's what you prefer...

I hate automatics in general....

Yes they have their place, tow vehicles, luxury rides, Mini Vans bit I like the feeling of control
and the additional skill required to operate at a high level. (ie: heel/toeing)

My wife is the same way....

But some folks prefer automatic for the ease of operation and the fact it allows them to concentrate on other aspects of driving.

For rock crawling and similar lower speed applications I can see many benfits, but I still don't want one.

To each their own....thats why they make manual and auto.

Zag

Here in Europe most cars are manual, at least where I live, autos are a bit rare. Unfortunately, we've got 3 cars at home, and 2 are autos. I find them VERY boring to drive, and I simply don't like them. I've always prefered manuals. The acceleration is so much better (at leats in terms of sensations) in a manual, besides being more efficient and faster.
However, I see the benefits offroad, no clutch to be burnt, being able to go real slow easily, etc etc etc... But I still don't like them.
As most cars are manual, anyone who knows how to drive a car will be able to drive a manual (at least where I live).
As has been said before, it may be just a matter of preference.

I have always liked manuals but all of the 13 cars I have owned have been automatics  :(  That is because I have usually had at least a 20 mile commute in traffic.  I would not want to deal with a clutch every day on the way to work.  My current commute is 40 miles each way.  When I bought my Tracker I bought it because I found one at a decent price.  I would have been thrilled if it had been a manual, but it wasn't :(  I think that in the US manuals are relatively rare.  In the little offroading I have done I can see how the automatic is helpful, but I've never wheeled with a manual.  I've also owned 9 bikes and of course all of them are manuals.  I find that riding them in stop and go traffic is a pain.  How do you guys with manuals deal with them in traffic?

An Auto of coarse,
The Turbo never has a chance to
spool down between shifts   

I find wheeling in an auto trans makes
hills and shifting much smoother and
easier, I don't use much more than 1st
gear in stock 4W Low, power with the
turbo is sufficient to turn the Swampers
and propel Trucklet and I most places I
can either get enought traction OR throw
enough dirt/sand back to create thrust

Wild

About driving in traffic with a manual, having to clutch etc... It's very simple once you get used to it... All driving schools ue manuals, so you simply learn with a manual and it is an a sort of "automatic" thing to clutch, change gears, etc.
About speed changing gears, you can change gears at least as fast with a manual than with an automatic, (in the sense of beginning to change the gear and ending the change), at least all manuals I've driven against the 3 autos I've ever driven (my parent's Chevrolet Trans Sport and Mercedes CLK and the Trailblazer we rented in the US).
About the smoothness, a manual can be driven smoother than an auto. In an auto it's a machine changing gears, and it never does so smoothly and when it does, it's not at the right time. With a manual you are in control, you change when you want and as smooth as you want.
In terms of reliability, I've never had any problems with either type of transmission, but, for example, I heard loads about AT overheating in deserts, and a few burnt clutches too. But burnt clutches can be changed relatively easy, but an overheated AT may bring big problems.
But other than heating problems, as I said before, AT might be better in some other offraod conditions, and it might be quite useful for people who aren't used to MT.

You've gotta love having a dead battery with an auto, or a bad starter, with an auto.  What ya gunna do to get going?  Can't exactly clutch start.

Auto's are nice and easy going and very good offroad, until you have simple problems like i just mentioned...  I'd rather shift the gears manually, and have full control.

have you seen the new fords yet that have an auto like a snow mobile,no gear shifting just gas and go.

have you seen the new fords yet that have an auto like a snow mobile,no gear shifting just gas and go.

Do you mean CVT?

It's a personal thing . Personally I like a stick , but ...
you need two feet to drive a manual , one for an auto .
normally I wouldn't care about that , but then I tore my ankle up and was in a cast for 8 weeks . Couldn't press the clutch for 3 months .
that made getting around a total pain , if I had an auto it would have been no problem .
Just my .02 cents

That's the reason you're supposed to own 2 to 3 vehicles.  I have 2 stick tracker/sidekicks, and 1 auto Scout, just in case...

How often in someones life does someone actually bust up their ankle?  I'll deal with the problem if and when it happens, but in the meantime, i'm not worried about driveability.

(i don't mean to offend you about your ankle).

They both definately have there place but going slow through and crawling can have its toll on an auto unless you have a good tranny cooler.