I've had the 8200 for 4 years as well, and love everything about it. Throat space is why I chose it, plus didn't want more features than it offered (and didn't want to pay for them). I love the auto thread cutter, the easy , intuitive screen selection of stitches, the way it does FMQ, how quiet it is, the alphabet I can make labels with, the auto tension which has never given me trouble, the drop-in bobbin, I could go on and on. I'm sure I'd love the knee lift if I ever get around to actually playing with it. But in 4 years I have not.
My only regret is that I didn't buy it sooner. On the other hand, if I had, I might not have appreciated it as much after struggling with small throat space of my small , first Janome.