I'm not a fan of Hurd, but Sunrise, Integrity, and Kolbe are good products. The thing is, they offer different pros and cons. If you don't want the maintenance of wood and you want the but performance value, the Sunrise will be the winner.
Better yet, in Houston you need to contact Ultra windows and talk to Randy. Great guy, offers the top products, and is EXTREMELY knowledgeable. He knows which options are best for your climate, and will give you an honest assessment without any BS.

Integrity All Ultrex if you want low maintenance. It costs more than vinyl but still less than wood. They have a few exterior colors to choose from, the profiles look a little better than most vinyl windows and the material is much more durable.

I'm going to have to disagree with FT here. The all-ultrex Integrity offers no benefit whatsoever over a quality vinyl unit like the Sunrise. The Sunrise will have significantly better thermal and structural ratings, besting it in pretty much every objective area. Subjectively, most folks find it more appealing as well (I don't think that I've EVER heard anyone call the all-ultrex Integrity a good looking window).... and this is coming from someone that sells Marvin and Integrity, but not Sunrise. The wood/ultrex Integrity is a great option for people that want a window interior. If you don't, it is hard to beat quality vinyl, or even thermally broken aluminum in your neck of the woods.

I personally like the way the all ultrex looks on the interior with casements mulled together and alone compared to most vinyl brands. Vinyl is much more bulky. Yes it's ugly in comparison to wood and aluminum clad units. I'm comparing to vinyl. Sunrise does look better than most vinyl from what I've seen in pictures but I do not have direct experience with them.

As far as looks, I was impressed with both the Integrity and Sunrise. We were leaning towards integrity (without getting our quote yet), but the sunrise product seems very interesting with it's construction.

We have been told that going with a fiberglass product in such a hot environment may not be good because it may not give and be as forgiving since it is so rigid.

I saw the Kolbe in person today. I like the look, but he construction of the sunrise seemed better.

I think we were priced out of Hurd. I need to go back and look at the quote in finer detail.

Homesealed - who does Randy work for in Houston?

Randy is at Ultra windows. I would not worry about fg in the hot environment, it will be fine. My only thing is that you could potentially get superior performance and warranty for less $$$.
@ FT, you are right, the casement is not bad looking. I was referring primarily to the all Ultrex double hung, which is typically a let down when set next to a premium vinyl like the Sunrise or Okna, both of which offer a similarly sized slim profile like the Integrity.

Maybe the all Ultrex casement is pretty but the double hung...not so much.

At that point, the Infinity is the prettier sister.

FT...you will be surprised how narrow some of the vinyls are getting.

+1..won't find a better company that Ultra.

I agree, the All Ultrex double hung is pretty ugly looking.