I meant to say, when pulling a long hill with a heavy load, I prefer a manual...
You can shift into granny 1st

I prefer to have enough power to stay out of granny on an hill.
I agree.
I've been up some hills on the interstate in first and 2nd gear (of 6, so really 2nd and 3rd) it's no fun.
Either less load or more power is the real answer, probably in that order.
I've also been down the other side of those hills in LOW (of 6) still on the interstate, and I'll tell you that really is no fun, 15 mph with traffic passing at 65, Wow! did I mention it was no fun? Any higher gear and I was on the brakes constantly, so not much to do but go slower and use them occasionally.
Was I glad to have a manual, yes, but saying a manual is better because you can use low on a long hill with a load (as in interstate I take it?) is somewhat silly and misguided. Might be an option, but not a real good one or one to be proud of.
Grigg