Mine has proven equally reliable to a mechanical toilet, while providing considerably more comfort. This actually makes sense when you consider all the mechanical complexity in a typical toilet is getting replaced with a series of solenoids. Flush is now just energizing an electromagnet, rather than the gravity-powered dance of floats and valves you're used to.

There's also fun to be had trolling toddlers. Sometimes when my 2yo closes the toilet I'll sneakily open it with the remote and she'll yell at it "NO!" and slam it shut again.

It's not. Once you get a toto you never go back.

In three years, it's been one pair of AA batteries so far and the cap on 'lots of maintenance' would be a 15-minute task to remove and replace with a new one.

A simple alternative is the hand washer attachment, ~$50.