Thanks for that Rod, thats exactly the thing I'm after; peoples experiences.
TBH, I dont need 4 seats as the missus would NEVER fly with me again anyway (err, no bearing on my flying skills, just that she was a bit put of by the size of the 152 I took her up in). All I would need is a 2 seater so I could fly with friends etc and a reasonable range. Vans quote between 750-920 SM for the 200hp RV-7A which is probably more than I need. I would be planning on doing the occassional Hampshire-Fife route which I would prefer to do direct with no fuel stops.
TBH I couldnt afford a cirrus as much as I would love one. The beauty of homebuilt is that the costs can be spread by buying sections at a time.
Spamcan