bhai you mised up cvt and conventional auto tranny. CVT does not have a torque converter. and conventional does not have the elastic band effect.
The rest i agree MT is better for the driver feeling, i hv MT 1.8 and CVT 1.8 , MT is far far ahead in the driving scenario. CVT will get loud and show elastic effect even in normal highway over take scenarios.
dont know about yaris manual, or cvt but since 1.8 cvt shows lag, 1.5 cvt will definitely lag and scream. its good enough for city drive, and its designed for being inside the city.