I'll say the '03+ is prettier, but we like the hatch for carrying stuff. YMMV...

We've got the base car, with the least powerful engine (but 5-spd). I'm not into 'luxury' cars, so I'm not sure about your question. It's smoother than my GSR, its faster then either of our Accords. Saab goes back to about '75 with turbos, so they've got a few years of experience. It's a pretty sophisticated control system & a very refined engine. I'd ALWAYS take more power, but we didn't buy the car for that. If it were mine, I'd want to stiffen up the suspension before adding more power. I think they've done a lot of that for '03+.

The '03+ is TOTALLY different, including the engine architecture. So this doesn't count if you're looking at that. Imagine asking a 6th gen owner how they like their F23, and then getting a K24 accord...