Many thanks for all the feedback - greatly appreciated.
Here is my dilemna!
It seems to me that when I've researched this (on the web generally as well as in this thread), those people who have spent the cash and gone for an expensive model seem vehement that if you can afford it then it is a purchase that they do not regret. Many of the people have upgraded themselves from both simpler models and from relatively sophisticated models. Some sophisticated models have had a relatively short life but all Zojirushi owners say that these go on for years. Evidently some models are produced in China to Japanese standards but the top-end models are produced in Japan. Zojirushi is evidently almost a status symbol in Japan .....!
It also seems to me that those that have gone for a lower cost solution are equally happy with their choice. But many of these people only have as a point of comparison the previous pan methods they used and I can't recall any that have downgraded or compared their experience with a Zojirushi for example.
I haven't seen many .... any? .... that have said that their investment in a Zojirushi for example was wasted and they were equally happy with a less expensive solution. And, whereas I've seen a lot of posts from Zojirushi owners who think their machines are marvelous and was well worth the cash - I've not seen many posts from owners of these or equal machines who say that the extra cash spent was wasted.
Ok, here's my skinny.
Years ago, we bought a high end induction heating (or whatever it's called) model from Japan. Worked well. We used many of the settings (quick cook, timer cooking, etc), but not a lot of the other functions like making porridge. It died on us after 5 or so years.
We replaced that with a mid-range one with all the same bells and whistles, just without the induction heating system.
We couldn't tell the difference. The reason being is that it's just me and my wife. We cook about 1 cup at a time. I figure if you do the higher yields, that's where the fancier cooking technology comes into play.