I am on my 13th BMW, 11 of which were sticks.
My 535xi (now gone) was a Steptronic, which was OK with me. However, the Steptronic is poor, compared to the new 7 speed DCT.
My new M3 is the DCT and I totally love it. It allows you to be lazy and drive normally around town and in congested traffic; but it also allows you to use the paddles and drive as aggressively as you wish. Once your MDrive is set up properly, you can turn the car from a easy daily driver, to a screaming-meany with the touch of one button on the steering wheel. You can do either in Drive mode or Sequential mode.
As an added bonus, the DCT cars are actaully quicker than a manny tranny one, all other things being equal.
But many prefer the stick, and I know why. For me, today, I prefer the DCT.
YMMV.