Thing is, if you care what these people think, it shows you need their validation. Given what you have described them as and what they said, do you really WANT their validation? Surely you only want validation from people you respect? :-?
Spiteful comments come from jealousy, you enjoy your car, its a cute Sei, and seeing the pic makes me wish Id never traded mine in.
My recommendation is get a turbo for your Sei ;-)
( edit ) mind you, having said that, was carrying a heavy load + passengers on the eurotunnel train in the marea last night ( 110 mph from brittany to calais - what roads! ) and behind me in the compartment where a bunch of, well lets call them The W@nkers in a people carrier. Got off at the other side, on a single carriageway 50mph road, and a car behind me, rather than stay behind as we joined the M20 sliproad they decided to miss my rear end by millimetres and get a head start on the traffic, as they passed w@nker kiddies in the back started gesticulating. So I put my foot down, and we were both going 90mph in a 50mph speed limit ( oops ) then bombed past them doing 120mph, no return gesture required, the rear end of the car leaving them for dead was remark enough - f@ck you w@nkers ;-)
And I didnt want their validation in the slightest, I just want those kiddies saying to daddy "But daddy, a FIAT creamed you on the M20, so your car isn't as fast as you said".
Dave.