I just got a Yaesu VX-8R and love it, I'm sure you'll be happy with it. One thing I suggest is get at least one of the 1800 mAh batteries, it is a pig on batteries and I only get about 8-12 hours on the 1800.
Yeah, I noticed that in Chicago with aprs running at 5min intervals it killed my batt in only 5 hrs. Never made a single contact over the air talking either.