For me, no speed demon, the manual base version will be just fine. To answer your question about why neither of your dealers had a non-S car to drive, it is because they spec out cars based on what the demand is in your area because they don't want to get stuck with a car on their lot that they won't sell. For me, living in the Northeast, it was impossible to find any cars without the cold weather package, and I didn't want the package, so had to order my car. I absolutely HATE heated seats (or bun-warmers as I call them), and would never use them. The other things in the package, while nice, are not necessities for me. I will just have to use a scraper when we get snow and ice.
We test drove both models (multiple times) and went for the "s" over the base model. The base felt like a brick when we drove it (a bit better in the stick then automatic) but there was serious power issues and lag. We live in the city where zippy driving is a must so this clearly wouldn't work for us. Plus the car felt heavy and clunky. The "s" model was worlds better (in both models). We went for that over other options that we felt weren't worth the money. The nav/connect felt clunky to use plus with iPhones and nav systems available that work just as well if not better it didn't seem worth the extra money. Keep in mind we went in with the intention to buy a base model - but after test drives we realized we wouldn't be happy day to day with it's very limited power. Just our experience though.
p.s. we went for a few fun things like heated seats and driving lights - but the rest of the extras weren't worth as much as the "s" upgrade to us.
HTH
edit: Just backtracked and saw you got the "s" - good move!
