What's so special about this "auto-lock" feature? Isn't this on any cordless drill with keyless chuck? My Makita DF330 has that as well.
1. There are two kinds of keyless chucks. I don't know if you remember the old days when you have to twist two rings opposite each other to lock in the bit? With this newer tech, the spindle is locked when the button is released, so you can unlock/tighten the chuck with one hand without letting go of the handle. Or you can "screw" the bit locked by slowly activating the drill.
2. Not sure if maybe "auto-lock" might be describing another feature of the drill. When you let go of the trigger, completely, the spindle stops dead, instantly. It doesn't slow/brake the inertia; it's an instant stop. I am rather curious how they do that, actually, without the thing eventually self-destructing, lol. Of course, it also has a very good electronic speed control, so if you press/release the trigger slowly, the speed of the drill responds, accordingly. The slip clutch torque minimum setting is way too high for delicate electronics screws, but the speed control and auto-locking spindle make up for it.
I bought slightly different variation of this drill some time ago. (Slightly longer and with hammer drill function, just cuz why not? It works for drilling in cinder blocks). At the time, the Makita version has more torque/speed and otherwise similar specs/size. And this was borne out in at least some individual testing of the actual units, which someone posted online. I bought Bosch, anyway, cuz it was very slightly cheaper and because I have two other bosch tools which are great... and the color scheme.

I remember when Makita stuff was plain blue, too. But they have gone nuts with neon lines and stuff, lol.
The one annoying thing about this drill is the chuck is shorter than normal. You can't chuck a double ended screwdriver hex bit, for instance.
Also, when I bought mine, I researched and discovered this tool was made in Malaysia (at that time, anyway). Most of the other brands in this class were made in Taiwan or China. Not sure about Makita. I'm not sure what the current market looks like, but I am completely happy with this drill.
*Ooops. I guess this thread is kinda stale.
** I labeled my batteries when I bought this... date (on the battery I didn't lose) is dec 2012. 1.3Ah. Still works great. They are using 2.0 Ah batteries, now, and 2.5Ah are available, as well!