Recently, I weighed the pros and cons of Glock versus Springfield XD. Ultimately, I got the Glock, primarily because one came along at a very attractive price. Otherwise, the Glock and XD had almost equal appeal to me, with each having a few positives and negatives that, on balance, were basically a wash.
One criticism of the XD which I saw repeatedly in reviews and in postings from owners was that the XD's finish lacks durability. The other day, I think I saw evidence of this. In the handgun display case at Academy Sports (a big chain around these parts) were a number of pistols, including a Glock and XD. Whereas the Glock display model had a few minor handling marks, the XD looked positively rough. In particular, the finish on the slide release and rear of the slide (where it would be grasped and pulled back) showed almost complete wear with shiny spots beginning to show through. To me, this did not look like damage from a one-time event, but more like the chronic result of repeated handling.
Of course, there's nothing scientific about this, and I can't be sure the two guns had been on display for comparable lengths of time. However, both pistols had high-cap mags, which means they were both post-September 2004 production.
I also observed a similar phenomenon with .22 rimfires in the display case. The S&W 22A looked as rough as the XD, whereas the Ruger and Browning rimfires were holding up to the handling much better.
