Well, I've been using my good old Garmin 296 for over four years now, and it's been perfect. I particularly like the battery life, which is still well over 6 hours even after four years (I do, however, always have a fully charged spare with me just in case.....)
I quite like the idea of having the 1:500000 charts on the plotter screen, and some of the new units do look good, but with it's terrain page, and the Jeppeson charts, I find the 296 just the job, and should it die, the 495 will defo be it's replacement!..