What I'm seeing here is pretty much what I've seen everywhere. 6 of one, half dozen of another. We've got serious hills/grades here and I like the idea of the 34/32 low gear of the Apex but the 105 is a saple of the bicycle industry.
That's exactly why I went with the Apex. I live in Colorado and we have lots of serious hills around here. I like the low gearing of the Apex with the 32 cog. The shifting is clean, and I like the double-tap. The brake levers seem to have a lower profile on the handlebars too. I actually had Tiagra on my last bike but so far I'm liking the Apex, no complaints.