Airshares SR-20

After last week's great flight down to Atlanta and back to NJ, I've begun to
seriously investigate upgrading "my" aircraft to an SR-20. By "my" I mean
that I currently rent, and for long distance flights meant more for vacation
like the one to Atlanta, I rent a 172SP. I'm very happy with the planes I
get to rent, as each (of the two available) is equipped with GPS, moving
map, and autopilot, and one even has an HSI that automatically syncs up with
the magnetic compass... a very handy gauge on really long flights.

I spoke with someone at the Airshares office at Caldwell, NJ, and got a good
overview of the price structure for the SR-20. They don't actually have one
available there yet, as there isn't enough interest at the moment. But I
don't qualify for the SR-22 yet... I have about 195 total hours, and their
insurance requires 350 + active pursuit of an instrument rating (which,
incidentally, I earned a few months ago). So I'm really only lacking the
flight hours, and the SR-20 sounds like a great way to move up without
stepping up too much in too short a time.

I'm curious what experiences any SR-20 flyers out there have had on both
short hops, sightseeing trips, and on longer distance trips as well. I want
some extra speed, and I like the fact that it can carry a bit more of a
payload than a 172SP, but since I haven't flown one, much less to a faraway
destination, I don't know if it will really be worth the hassle of the
upgrade. I'm interested in hearing how well it performs, how comfortable it
is, how useful it is as compared to 172s, Warriors, etc.

Thanks!

--
Guy Elden Jr.