You are quite right, CT. The SRV is sold as VFR only. I eat my words.
How bizzare.
An autopilot is the best pilot workload reducer by far and while I have had a number of failures I would not embark on a long single pilot flight without it working.
A Cirrus is obviously flyable by hand, and I have flown one, but I think most "stick" tourers are routinely flown on the AP because the stick doesn't lend itself to quite such precise control as a yoke.
The bottom line in this one has to be pilot training. Not the weather as such because a PPL has to be able to fly in IMC, and do at least a 180.