I bought and tried this lens after trying a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 which was way too soft. The reviews on here are 100% positive. Maybe I got a bad copy but the 16-85 was nothing special. Indeed, it was not much above the 18-55 kit lens in overall IQ. I gave the Sigma 17-70 f2.8-4.0 a go and was pleasantly surprised with its better build and optical quality. So I kept it. I hate trying and testing lenses since the variation in quality is enormous. Chasing the lens is such a bore.

Edit: Now *****
I would have stayed with the Sigma but a friend let me try her new Nikon 16-85mm which was very good and better than the Sigma 17-70 I had. So, later I tried another Nikon 16-85 from JLP and got a very good copy with which I am very happy. In fact it is better than my friend's. It's very good throughout its range - even at 85mm f5.6 it sings mind we can easily go ISO3200+ today so F5.6 is not so bad. The Sigma was good but not as good. I'm sticking where I am - for now...