Your buddy's bike is definitely nicer, but this one is cheaper! Would you rather have the Soloist carbon or a Madone 5.2?
I rented a Cervelo soloist team for a week. Liked it quite a lot, and in my opinion, a pretty decent deal for $2k. However, I wanted carbon for better comfort.
I'm a slow rider, and pretty inflexible, so for me, the most attractive Cervelo is the RS. But I probably still prefer the Look 585 Optimum.