i would - if the question is directed at the time of original purchase. i.e., i bought mine new in august of '98....and at that time, the only other cars i was interested in were (new) preludes, passat 1.8t's, cougars, and a lone demo E36 318i manual. at that time i was driving a '93 honda civic ex coupe and was torn over whether i wanted another coupe or if i was ready to step up to something more "practical" as a fresh-out-of-college entrant into the working world. looking back at those choices and others on the market at that time - the CSVT was and is clearly the best choice in my mind. the practicality of 4-doors, the exclusivity of the SVT pedigree, the unique styling, the balanced performance and bang-for-the-buck.....you couldn't beat it. my budget limited me to a strippo, plain-jane passat....the bmw was pushing my budget even as the "runt" of the E36 line and very "ordinary" compared to the E36 M3's i lusted after....the prelude was a close 2nd to the CSVT but just didn't ignite a fire in me....and the cougar would've swayed me over a non-SVT contour but didn't hold a candle to the SVT version.
the CEG factor is crucial to my ongoing desire to get another one - the good-times factor of the CSVT ownership was multiplied several times over by the nature of this community (especially at that time), and probably kept me happy with it longer than i otherwise would have been given the niggling problems i had with it for a while. however, the CEG factor didn't have any bearing on my purchase - i didn't know there was such an animal at that time!
the CSVT is the only car i've owned that i really feel passionate about and wish i still had. the RSX-S that followed was a great performer but a little too boy-racer and impractical....the grand cherokees that i had/have are great for what they are but certainly no fun to drive (except in the mud, which i only rarely have the opportunity to do)...the miata was excellent and i want another one, but i couldn't live with it as a daily driver...and the G35c was gorgeous and fun to drive but sheer misery to own.
so yes, i'd definitely do it again.
