4x4 AT or 4x4 MT: which one actually earns its keep on your Fortuner?

Mine's the 4x4 AT, Platinum White Pearl, and I'll admit the torque converter spoiled me. That creep at traffic lights without touching the accelerator, and the way it holds a gear on a climb, makes the daily grind easy. Owners who run the manual swear by it for highway runs though, saying they coax out a bit more real world mileage than the AT crowd gets, per this Spinny breakdown.

The off road camp is split too. Some say a manual gives you more feel for traction on loose Rann sand or a Himalayan climb. Others point to the AT's low range crawl, locked in second or third, as less fatigue on a long technical stretch, as this road test lays out.

I'm AT for life, but I want to hear from the MT loyalists in this club. Drop your pick below and why.