I have owned the same Nespresso machine for 9 years (clean it every so often of course so maintenance for longevity is definitely key) and it continues to produce great espresso drinks. Nothing beats a cheap alternative (~$5.50 for 10 pods, I use 1 pod and run it through twice for each drink) to paying $4.00+ at any coffee shop in the morning in my opinion. Plus they ship extremely fast, usually delivered in 2 days with standard shipping.
I do agree that tastes to differ so I would suggest going to a store who has them on display with Keureg's to see the differences. I do enjoy Nespresso's occasional limited edition pods as well for good variety.
qua2kRunning a pod twice will over-extract the coffee leading to a not as good taste. If you want more coffee but less strong, you are better off running it once, then dropping the capsule and running just plain hot water. Try it, I bet you'll notice the taste improves.
I do agree that tastes to differ so I would suggest going to a store who has them on display with Keureg's to see the differences. I do enjoy Nespresso's occasional limited edition pods as well for good variety.