I wear, and love, sidi shoes. mine are the genius model. they're 2 years old with about 10,000+ miles on them, and they are in great condition. among the people I ride with, they're the most widely worn shoe. I don't know anyone who wears the energy model, so I can't comment about the small twisty buckles on the front or whether the stiffness device on the bottom really works.
one word of advice...use glue or loctite on all the screws/bolts on the sole. I lost a couple of cleat bolts and a heel pad the first time I wore them. LBS gave me replacements, and I glued them in and everything has been fine since.
when looking at pictures of the european peloton, it seems obvious to me that the genius is the worn by many more riders than is the energy.