I had a gaggia carezza and its basically a classic without a pressure release valve. I could have upgraded to a classic but it seems a waste of 200 quid when what I want is something with good steam power.
The things that annoyed me about the carezza that made me want to upgrade (many of these apply to a classic too)
-temperature stability is hit and miss on the gaggia, you never know quite how close you are to ideal brew conditions.
- tiny tiny tiny little drip tray, was absolutely useless
- steam power like an asthmatic 5 year old blowing bubbles in milkshake with a straw
- no pressure valve in the carezza so couldn't remove portafilter right after a shot, until pressure has subsided. Means I couldn't make multiple drinks.
- no ability to steam and brew at the same time (coffee goes cold while steam warms up)
- no handy water Tap
Sadly a lot of these issues can be levelled at the rancilio silvia too, still one boiler, still no ability to steam and brew, and still huge temperature fluctuations between shots. Albeit with a much bigger boiler, better recovery, larger drip tray and more steam power. Adding a PID to the silvia to fix all of these, would end up costing the same, or more than the cherub, which doesn't need a PID
A silvia didn't seem like a big enough upgrade from my machine, so I thought I'd try and just go straight to the end point and save myself upgrade blues lol