I've used the Kinetic trainer for most of the last year and am very happy with it. Its strong and stable, easy to use, and the feel is more or less like riding on the road.
Years ago I bought the original Cyclops fluid trainer and liked using it and the company. However, the seal on mine did fail twice and spilled the oil out onto the floor. Cyclops were excellent about the warranty (lifetime, do they still offer this?) repair. There's a retaining clip on the mechanism that tightens the roller to the wheel that failed a few times too - but this was a part I could find for cheap at a local hardware store.
In the end it was the leaking, even if it was only once every few years, that directed me toward the Kinetic. I like not having to worry about the issue (Kinetic use a magnets instead of a drive shaft and so can keep the fluid canister contained and sealed) of fluid leaks and seal failures. Cyclops treated me very well, fixed with zero questions and they deserve credit for that. Also, mine was an original design and I the current models may well be different.
As far as the feel of using them, one versus the other. In general its quite similar. Kinetic use silicone fluid which they claim maintains the same viscosity at temps, so the resistance is consistent throughout the ride. The oils used in others (cyclops) supposedly get a little thiner at temps and so the resistance gets a little easier. Wasn't much of an issue for me at the time because I used to work based on heart rate, if the resistance did indeed get a little lighter due to temp of the oil, I'd have compensated by working more to keep the heart at the same rate.
Now I'm sticking a little more with revs per minute and if I wanted to clock along in a certain gear at 90 revs per minute, the load getting easier as the oil heated would be more of an issue.
A very satisfying work out can be had on either and I'd happily use either. But given the choice, I like the the Kinetic versus the (original) Cyclops.
Note that I also had one, can't remember the brand, that worked with a wind turbine. The machine worked well, was cheaper - but was just too loud for anyone else in the domestic environment (I didn't care because wear headphones).
Bottom line is I think you'll do well to take the Kinetic trainer - can't remember what I paid, but seems it was more than you are getting it for (?)