I recently bought a NOS 2016 Expat for an even $1k as a replacement for my beloved Cross-Check (got stolen, of course), and I'm really enjoying it so far. My riding is mostly 6-mile commutes on rough pavement, occasional 20+ mile rides, etc., and it seems like a pretty ideal match. It's also literally a couple decades more advanced than my old CC (carbon fork! brifters! disc brakes!) for roughly the same price, and has much more comfortable geometry (the CC is basically a '90s CX bike). Only downsides are the 2016 model has no mounts on the front except for fenders, and the frame overall isn't quite as nice as the CC's -- the welds just don't seem quite as clean.
I also test-rode one of the 631 models and one of the aluminum models. The 631 actually felt a lot lighter/smoother, but a $2k bike is overkill for my purposes. I was actually quite impressed by the aluminum-framed one -- it rode fine and seems pretty appealing in comparison to a lower-end Diverge or something.