CnC7

Hi, I've just found and joined the forum as I'm looking at potentially getting a used Octavia VRS (petrol), so would appreciate any hints/advice as to which model to go for. Budget is fairly flexible - so looking between £15k to just over £20k. I've always driven manual cars, and have had a few reasonably quick ones, but a couple of friends have said the DSG box is very good, so am considering this option and will be visiting a local Skoda dealer for a test drive in a DSG equipped Octavia to see how I get on with it, although this won't be a VRS as they don't have one at the moment. Having done some research, I'd appreciate thoughts on the following, which would help pin down exactly which variant to go for: 220PS or 245PS engine? Whichever, I'd probably like to get a remap to around 300BHP, so was wondering if there's an appreciable difference in the starting point. DSG - 6 or 7 speed .... or manual? I've read the 6 speed is slightly quicker changing gears, but would I even notice ... or would you recommend manual over DSG? Any thoughts, comments, or other advice about what to look out for would be very much appreciated! Thanks.