In my personal search for a best new plane I've done demo flights in
all the new single engine aircraft available.

The DA-40 was hands down the most fun to fly. It made a fairly low
time pilot like me look good, it didn't seem to have any bad habbits.
Great visibility, good performance and nice looking.

I flew an early version which had some issues that have been addressed
and some the havn't in the latest upgrades.

Those that have include the new extended bagage area. The original
just didn't have any space at all. With little kids it had the useful
load, but I would need more room for all the kid supplies.

Another upgrade is the panel which has been moved up to give more leg
room. It was a little tight and I'm a normal sized guy.

One that won't ever change is the non-adjustable seats. One size never
fits all, and although I found the seating position to be ok, I know
that somewhere some time I would ant to move it and would hate that I
couldn't. The rudder pedal adjust instead. Granted this is a YMMV kind
of issue.

The control stick is great for a pilot, but with a non-flying
signifigant other could be an issue.

Someone already linked Phillip Greenspun's web site. Its a good read
and I think will give some honest info on long term ownership. One
thing I noticed from reading it was teh problem with the MT prop
spewing grease. I don't think he's had a complet resolution to the
problem and I believe that smoehwere he notes that this is an issue he
has seen on the DA40 pilots forum as well. It would seem that Diamond
has opted to use a new prop in the latest version.

All in all a good plane.