Powerchair decisions

Well, there is so much to blog about and not enough hours in the day. My computer has been having issues, like shutting down whenever it feels like it. So I am now on Missy's Dynavox, great now that they are also a computer as well as an AAC device.
Anyway back to the powerchair decisions, there is so much to consider, we narrowed it down pretty quickly by making the vertical lift and mid wheel range as necessities. Trying to have powerchair that suits all our requirements is really impossible. We needed the chair to have a tight turning circle yet be able to handle the rough terrain outside.
So we had narrowed it down to the Quickie Rhythm http://www.sunrisemedical.com/products/product_detail.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302127931&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524447440969&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474395285139&bmUID=1201631831443
and the Magic Frontier http://www.magicmobility.com.au/frontier-x5 the video of the frontier looks great along with Extreme X8 which is a 4WD, amazing video footage of it's capabilities. While the Frontier toughest looks great its is about4 inches longer than the Rhythm which can really count in the classroom and our little house.
To add to the decision a new Glide powerchair is coming out which from talking to a number of reps will be superior to most chairs on the market in particular in the way it suits a variety of terrains and great durability. This chair should be out in February 2011.
It's just not a decision on the wheelchair base, but we had to choose and trial various seating systems, controller options, tilt options and the many accessories that are needed to complete the setup.
The Quickie Rhythm with all the accessories came in at $27,000 - wow!!!!!
Obviously we will putting in an application(with the help from our OT at The Spastic Centre) to Enable for assistance, who knows what they will say and how long it will take.