Can’t help but chuckle at this. A quick 5 minute hop (if that!) between Finsbury and Kings Cross is hardly enough time to judge anything, let alone base an entire opinion on.. but, to answer your points:
-The pull down tables are rarely dirty but then you can blame the passengers who make them dirty rather than the design for that, hardly a fault of the train.
-The PIS is new and has been recently replaced internally and externally.
-The first class is a proper commuter first class unlike any other GN stock including 700s, you can only travel in it on GWR as the area has been declassified and they haven’t changed the seats...!
-The 700 PIS is good when it works, unfortunately that’s not overly common at the moment on GN (or TL based on the constant complaints
), although in my opinion there is too much nonsense on it and I’d rather have a simpler system.
-less cramped?! You must be joking, the seats are squashed against the wall and against each other, with a lovely duct to get in the way on the window side.
-The 700 First Class is basically standard class on a 387 (where ironically First is exactly the same as standard but with a bit of cloth on the seat)
I won’t comment any more on this as it’s a waste of time, as it appears a number of others have realised..