Another Canuck! Welcome to the group. I'm building a -9A precisely for the reason that my primary mission will be x-country. Mainly around Ontario (Ottawa,Toronto, Waterloo) with occassional longer trips to explore. I also like that the -9 is probably the best of them for getting into small fields (there's a very small airport with a grass strip near my family's cottage). I also like the added safety afforded by a longer gliding range... I'm constantly paranoid about engine failures when I fly. Also like the lower landing speed (I'm a low-time pilot, just over 120hrs total).
However, I do admit when hearing about people doing aerobatics, I do sometimes feel a twang of jealousy.