From where I'm sitting, the latter is the closest. My Extra 300 has been retired for a couple years, over 300 flights on it, I could charge it up and fly it tomorrow. Used it to learn a lot of essentials, like continuous rolls, rolling circles, and inverted flight. Always flew just fine. Now the covering is all faded, I'll probably recover it.

Most of the negative posts I've seen don't cite personal experiences, and some that do just tell me the pilot couldn't handle a low wing aerobat. I don't mind the covering issues, and there were no structural issues or bad flight characteristics. Oh, and two of my friends bought the old style Extra 300, on my recommendation. Both were satisfied.

Your call.
Dave Olson