Taylor Guitars 714

Fairly limited "features," even from an acoustic guitar perspective. 1997 model. Grand Auditorium body style, Solid Sitka Spruce top, Indian Rosewood back and sides, mahagony neck, ebony fingerboard. Did not come with any factory installed electronics, but the previous owner installed a Seymour Duncan "sadducer" pickup under the bridge. No cutaway, either.
A note about the features: this guitar has more or less exactly the features that I wanted. Given the limited amount of money I had to spend, I wanted a solid wood guitar with good quality woods, good sound, and good build quality. I did NOT want the wood routed for an onboard preamp. Taylor's standard electronics setup on this model does have a cutout for a preamp, and to be honest, I don't really know why. It seems to me that if you are paying for Taylor-quality wood, you would want it unadultered. I was ambivalent about a cutaway. It reduces bass response a little and most of the acoustic material I play doesn't venture up into the upper registers. However, I have discovered a few things that are difficult to play without the cutaway.
The wood on this guitar is very attractive. I wanted a guitar with a spruce top. The current Taylor 714 series has cedar tops, which are nice but not exactly what I was looking for (a little too mellow).

This is my first true steel string acoustic, so I am no expert in acoustic tone. That being said, I think the tone on this guitar is very nice. Hard to describe acoustic tone, but I would say well-balanced and full. Could be a shade brighter for fingerpicking, but different strings might accomplish that. It also might help if I learned to play with my fingernails better. Sounds very nice strummed.
I bought the guitar via an internet escrow service, which provided for a short "inspection" period. During that period, I went to a few local guitar retailers to make sure there were no other guitars in this price range that sounded as good or better than the 714. there weren't. The only guitar which made me hesitate for a moment about this purchase was a Taylor 614c, and that one was nearly $1000 more than I paid for this guitar.
I have not really had chance to audition the guitar through a good acoustic amp because I don't own one, and thus I can't really comment on that aspect of its tone. It sounds decent through a solid state electric guitar amp set on clean, but the feedback can be nasty if I move around too much.

Guitar's finish appears to be flawless. Very beautiful, thin finish, not a thick gloss like on some cheaper guitars. As noted, the wood is very nice.
The action seems a bit off (fret buzzing in a few spots), but Taylor can't be blamed for that as the guitar is a few years old. I will have it professionally set up when I get a chance, and hopefully that will rectify any problems.
The guitar is not quite as "playable" as I expected. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation. A few Taylors I have tried played so easily that they practically seemed to play themselves. This one is not one of them. I wouldn't necessarily consider it hard to play, especially for an acoustic, but it does make you work some to get a good sound out of it. On the plus side, I have found this quality to give the guitar a more dynamic sound than some of the easy to play ones (maybe just because I am working harder, though).

Very difficult to evaluate in a well-built acoustic guitar. Absent major abuse or mishandling, I would expect the guitar to last a lifetime.

I have heard lots of great things about Taylor's customer service. Unfortunately, I have not experienced any of them. When I bought the guitar, I e-mailed Taylor with a few questions. I never heard back from them. I also registered the guitar on their website. I have never received any acknowledgement that the registration was ever processed. They did send me a catalog fairly quickly when I requested one. Overall, I would have hoped for better. They are a local company (San Diego) and I actually know someone who knows their marketing director. Perhaps I'll let him know I have been less than impressed with their service.
The warranty is lifetime for the original owner. Since I bought it used, the warranty is voided.

I have been playing guitar for about 12 years, but have been seriously pursuing acoustic guitar for less than two. This is my only steel string acoustic. I also own a cheap nylon string and a few electirc guitars and amps.
I like nearly everything about this guitar. In a perfect world, it might have a cutaway and be slightly easier to play, assuming that this didn't adversely affect the sound quality, but I really can't complain. I gather the previous owner didn't play it all that much as it still sometimes seems somewhat "stiff" (not broken in) and even still has that "new guitar" smell! I expect it to continue to improve with age. If it were stolen, I would certainly consider another similar one, assuming I could find one (Taylor doesn't make this particular version anymore).