I'm a Python guy, so Sass comes natural to me.
I'm also a programmer by heart, so using variables in it also comes natural to me. Also, why would I try to memorise #d6b397 if writing $bgcolor is the same?
Fortunately I always have a build pipeline I can insert Sass in, as I always write tests for my apps. And if I'm already there, it's not that hard to add a little Sass call somewhere.