It's obviously a very personal thing. My Mk2 260 had Cruise and I really used to miss it when I drove my wife's car on motorway journeys. So much so, that it was on our list of essentials when looking for a replacement car for her. Agreed it's not to everyone's taste (and hence can't generally be called essential), but it is one of the features I'd expect to see on a top of the range car, rather than expect those who want it to pay for it as an option. Isn't that the point of a top of the range car, that it has a fair bit more than just the essentials?
Oh, and back to the topic - I used to drool over the photos of #216 in the gallery before I bought my red 260. If it'd been for sale a couple of years ago, I would have snapped it up!