A search of “Turbo vs NA” will produce 50+ threads and likely hundreds (if not thousands) of comments/opinions on this topic, so I’d get comfy and start scrolling for details around your questions.
You also have to take into consideration the extra bells and whistles on a T vs NA. FIKI vs TKS? O2 vs no O2? It’s rare to find a turbo clean wing without O2. The more bells and whistles, the more $$ in mx costs. Turbos have lots of moving parts and are harder on cylinders than an NA. How you (or the former owner) ran the engine will give you a lot of insight as to what you can expect about how things will perform going forward, but even if an engine was run well, things still happen (break)…in addition to your normal life limits on parts (I’m facing the 15yr replacement on my O2 bottle later this year as well as the overhaul of the regulator, etc.).
The benefits of the T is that it’s a much more capable airplane >12k, opening up the mission envelope of the plane (assuming the pilot is safe/proficient to fly those missions).
The inverse is true of the NA. (Likely) lower mx costs, fewer moving parts under that cowl, possibly not the extra features of FIKI or O2 (though there are plenty of NA birds out there that have FIKI and O2).
Define your mission profiles and the utility that you’re looking for the plane to serve and outline the ideal plane based on that criteria. Reconcile that with knowing that it’s prudent to have the mindset that a 5-figure surprise mx bill wouldn’t cause a big cramp in your financial budget.
As everyone says, it all comes down to your “mission”. For me, in practical terms it boils down to budget, useful load, terrain and weather. If you’re out east, mountains aren’t going to be huge issue so you don’t have to fly at high altitudes, and if you’re not flying at high altitudes you don’t need a Turbo. If you’re likely to encounter icing conditions, then FIKI is considered a “must have” by many owners. If it’s just you and and another person then the useful load isn’t as big a deal but if it’s a family of four then it will be and you’ll want a G5. If you’re budget is capped $500K then you’re looking at at an early model or high engine time G3.
Here are key model / year changes:
FIKI wasn’t available until 2009 (but TKS was)
The Turbo engine wasn’t available until 2010, but there are plenty of ‘Turbo Normalized’ planes prior to that.
Useful load increased 200lbs from the G3 to G5 (2013). Also the G5 introduced the higher flaps speeds of 50% @ 150kts.
G6 introduced Perspective+
I love my Turbo for where I am, but if I lived out east I think I would stick with an NA since it’s less maintenance and less downside financial risk. Also, if you buy a plane that’s less than 10 years old keep in mind you’ll need a CAPS repack at 10 years and that’s probably another 15K.
The SR22T is great. I trained at San Carlos and lived at Lake Tahoe for many years. I have taken off and landed hundreds of times at KTRK or KTVL and now use the plane across Colorado, landing mostly at KGNB(8,200’). Any of the Cirrus will work for these missions, but the Turbo mitigates(does not eliminate) the times where high density altitude can limit your options. Also, the Turbo with O2 and Fiki provides much more flexibility landing in places like Lake Tahoe where you will have to descend through some cold clouds and icing on some days to get in.
