Just pokin my nose into this forum as I may be picking up a Xfire in the very near future.

As the owner of cars no one else cares about (http://www.asog.net <= also owner of this site), and having read through your forum, I can sympathize with the lot of you regarding modifications and aftermarket support of your vehicles. Should I pick one up, I might be of help to you guys in the future as i've been there/done that/got the t-shirt and scars to match of getting new mods and learning to work with instead of against closed computer systems.

That said,

I happen to quite like the crossfire, and think the mags have done it a bit of disservice. It's a truly fun drive, and although a bit low on HP, more than makes up with a hefty helping of torque.

I'm in need of a few answers to questions...

How are these as daily drivers? From my limited test drive, it seems well built and should be quite reliable... real world is always a different story however, what's your opinion of them.

Would you recommend the 6 spd over the auto? I've only had the chance to drive the auto as of yet, but hear the 6 spd is... well... not the greatest... but that's relative... is it like rowing a boat with 2' throws like a 1st gen talon... or more like my 2nd gen sebring, where it's a quick flick... maybe a 2" throw, although a firm throw.

The popping out of gear thing also bothers me.. just how good are these gearboxes?

Like many i suspect... i'm on the fence.. rx-8 / 350z / g35 are all in the running... but... i've grown out of my "rice rocket" stage and like something a bit more refined.. more european, and i find they don't have the same charisma as the Xfire.

The SRT-6 is out of the question for me... they're still hovering at $40K CDN used... whereas low mileage NA ones are a more reasonable $25K CDN... perfect for clear day daily driver/weekend duty.