Although I have both the Subscription and Auto-Download toggles set to ON on my iPad3, my podcasts never seem to auto-download. The only way to get them on the device is to force the download. I have the "Episodes to Keep" set at "Last Two". Am I just holding it wrong?
Downcast is a great podcast app, I'm using it to keep podcasts on both an iPad and an iPhone in sync via iCloud. It has a minor hiccups once in awhile not transferring a playcount to the other device but it works seamlessly most of the time. I highly recommend Downcast on the iPads and iPhones. iPad Cases