I think a lot of people hedged away from Vista sa a result of the problems that were reported with it when it first came out.
I guess downgrade would be a matter of opinion. I am by no means a computer expert, probably one of the least informed on this board.
However having XP at home and office it's worth the $99 for me to have it on my laptop.
Truthfully, I don't recall the exact charge but I do recall them telling me that it was only available on certain models.

I guess if you want it bad enough, then it's worth it

Regards, '83