well, imho, the design is far superior to the AR15. you can put 500 rnds through it and then look inside it and it will be as squeaky clean as it was when you started, because of the gas piston design. it also has some spiffy safety features in the event the gun blows up that make you much less likely to be injuired.
the barrel on the sl8 is pretty sweet for accuracy.
it's truely ambidextrous (great for lefties like me)
some of us actually LIKE thumbhole stocks. and it has a good one that is very solid, but also allows you to adjust the length and height with spacers.
i don't mind the color, but you can get some decent domestic conversions that will dye it black, put a folding stock on it, a muzzle brake and mag conversions. (you can also get some really really crappy conversions, so be careful. also it's important to look at the serial number BEFORE you buy it if you're going to get a conversion. some of the older and newer ones were made with different plastics that took to dyes differently. )
it does have some downsides:
it's relatively heavy, and pretty long. (it's no carbine) edit: i mean, it isn't well balanced
the sl8 mag is the most annoying design evar. 10 rnds only and time-consuming to load. and the ar15 mags (if you get the conversion) just look out of place in a plastic gun. you can get a very expensive conversion to real g36 mags, but then you've got to find the mags.
you can't use it in Service Rifle competitions, which is why i hardly ever shoot mine anymore.
i think $1600 is an obscene price, unless the scope and accessories are worth , say, somewhere in the neighborhood of $800. i think i paid around $1300 for mine new back around '00. they stopped importing them, but they were selling so poorly, i doubt they'll go up in value much, especially with the expiration of the ban.
