The DA42 is a lovely aeroplane to fly and very easy unlike some of them. I've yet to fly the NG version but me and a flying buddy normally go to the USA a couple of times a year and rent a Twin Star. The last one we rented had the 2.0 litre engines, would do 163kts TAS at 75% power at 8500' and had active traffic system as well as XM - we could tune into Radio 1 while flying over Arizona
They are a steal at the moment due to the reliability issues which have scared people off. Currently every 300 hrs the gearbox needs an inspection which costs $20,000. However that means that you can buy one close to inspection time for around $275,000 for a several year old airframe. You can then either have the inspection done and fly for 300 more hours or buy the NG upgrade kit from Diamond for $200,000. However you get $50,000 rebate for the old engines. This means that you can pick up a DA42NG (pretty much) for $425,000 - or £255,000. Considering the price of a new NG this actually looks like a viable investment. If I had the cash, this is what I'd do for sure. I'd keep it on the N reg and fly it back across the Atlantic...
Thanks, hopefully everything goes to plan re the Commander!