I really love this blender.   Its very easy to use, durable, and easy to clean.  I use it almost every day to either make smoothes or simple blending.   The stainless steel design makes it very easy and quick to clean.  One of the attractive features of the Vitamix version was the large motor however I have yet to need the extra power in anything that I've been mixing with it.  At least not yet.

Like most Vitamix products its very well made. Its more expensive then others but I feel it was worth the extra money.  I do have a regular blender too but the thing I love about the immersion blender is when I need to mix things quickly in a same pot or bowl it does it very well.  I now use my regular blender for larger tasks only.  I try to use the immersion blender 1st so there are less things to clean.