How is the auto transmission on the newer cars?

We're looking to swap our 1.0 turbo 10th gen Civic before the wet belt needs replacing next year (and for several other reasons, this car has been a bit of a disappointment). Currently a >= '22 Mazda3 hatchback is looking like the best option for us—the 2.0 NA SkyActiv-X as the turbo isn't available here (UK).

My wife and I have both only ever driven manual cars, but we were leaning more towards automatic this time because, as much as I like slinging cars down twisty B roads, that makes up approximately 0.5% of our total driving time, the rest being either stop-start commuter traffic or long motorway drives.

Most of the other cars we were considering—11th gen Civic (hybrid only here), Corolla, Audi A3, VW Golf—are either only available as automatics, or the auto is the obvious choice. The Mazda3 being our frontrunner has thrown something of a spanner in the works though, because I'm aware Mazda has a reputation for truly excellent manuals. All the UK-based reviews I've read and watched have focussed on the manual with the auto being relegated to an "also available" footnote, and I checked some US-based reviews but things are muddled a bit by the different engines and the AWD option (something else we don't get here as far as I can tell).

So, many question is, as a lifelong driver of manuals, am I likely to be annoyed or disappointed with the auto box? It gets marginally worse acceleration and fuel economy, it's marginally more expensive, and I know it's not going to be as fun on the country lanes. But what I'm most concerned about is that it will be underwhelming in my normal day-to-day driving, so I'd love to get some input from folks who drive one every day vs. the few days your average car reviewer will spend with it.