I finally got tired of fighting with irons, both cheap and expensive. Last month I invested in Reliable's V100 iron. Yes, pricey, but...
Separate chamber and heating components for water/steam
Separate temp settings for soleplate and steam, so soleplate can be set at low for delicate fabrics, and still have high steam (or any other combo you might want to use)
a replacable filter in the water chamber to filter out the calcium and stuff that ruins so many irons...
oh and did I mention it has AUTO-SHUT-OFF-OVERRIDE!!??!!