I would go test drive. I personally don't care for Bernina but many love them. For how expensive they are you want to make sure you love the machine. It is a large investment. I have seen some adore their Bernina and I have also seen some regret their purchase because they didn't bond with their machine. I don't believe any one brand is better than the other or that any one brands is suitable for everyone that's why it is good to try different machine. There are so many amazing machines on the market, juki, elna, janome, pfaff, brother, babylock, viking. All are a little different and have their own neat features and you might like some features more than others.