ayookr, I was where you're at about 2 years ago. I bought a Specialized Crosstrail Sport because of the several miles of crushed-lime trails in my area. The Crosstrail is definitely faster and more nimble than the old 26" mountain bike I used to have. I would imagine the Sirrus is even more so. However, I found that the only thing that satisfied my need for speed was adding a true road bike (Specialized Roubaix) to the stable. Of course, with your current bike budget, a road bike would have to wait.

My wife and I now each have a Roubaix and a hybrid, and we enjoy riding much more (because of the options) than we did when we only had one bike.