Both of these rifles appeared at approximately the same time.  Which would you folks say is the better rifle overall?

I'll take the Galil over an AK-74 personally. It is basically an upgraded AK platform in 5.56mm. Better charging handle, better selector switch, better sights, really nice durable folding stock, bottle opener. Oh and make sure you get the real deal IMI made Galil if you are planning on buying one. Don't buy that cheap crappy version made by Century Arms. Of course I still have a soft spot for the AKS-74U Krinkov as a very compact and lightweight handy rifle. I have an Arsenal Krinkov SBR and I love it.
 

I own a Galil SAR (CNCW/TennGalil build) and an AK-74 (M+M M10-545). The Galil is the superior rifle out of the box, hands-down. About the only place it's a little meh is optics-mounting - the upturned charging handle on the Galil tends to get in the way of center-mounted scopes. You can fix that, of course.

You can get an AK-74 most of the way to Galil awesomeness, but it doesn't look like an AK-74 by the time you're done. :)

The Galil ACE series takes the Galil and makes it even better.

The Gallil is the better quality gun and has improved features, but the down side is that it's heavy, which is part of the reason you don't see them used that much any more in Israel.  I've got an original IMI Galil ARM and a SAIGA SGL31-61 AK-74, and the Galil is noticeably heavier.

Agreed. IWI-US will sell a hojillion of them if they can get them to a $1250 street price. In particular, I think the ACE N (AR mags) and ACE 5X (7.62x51) models would be huge sellers.

One of the reasons I like my Galil SAR SBR is that it ditches some of the weight up front. Balance is better, IMHO. My understanding is that the SAR is basically the only Galil issued anymore, and only to tank crews.

The ACE also has less weight than a Galil as the lower half of the receiver is polymer. I agree, the ACE N and 308 ACE will sell like hotcake here, I have a feeling we may see one at the Bullpup shoot this year

wow thats a tough one, galils are outstanding but heavy. either way you cant lose.

Will the Galil ACE be sold here?

Keeps me some Galil's...

I would have to go with the AK74, but in all honesty I don't care for either. I do prefer 5.56 as far as rounds go. The AK74 has that ugly muzzle brake that works real good. The Galil- when I was an instructor at Bragg, we got several dozen of these brand new for training. Up until then I had never messed with one. I thought they were pretty nice- brand new. Later on when I was in Colombia (where the Galil is standard issue in their army) I had the opportunity to work extensively with this weapon. I found numerous problems with them. They tend to turn into rattle traps when used in service, much worse then AKs. The rear sight is on the receiver cover, which becomes loose and results in the sight moving around. Many times the stock latches didn't work. Also front handguards tended to get very loose. Occasionaly other parts would malfunction as well.The safety/selector isn't that much better than the AK. In around 2005 their SOF units switched to bushmaster 11.5" Ars and M16A2s, which was a relief for me as an instructor.

I prefer the under folder AK  it is more compact and in 30 cal.

How hard had the ones been used in Colombia to make them loose like that?

Well, they definitely aren't safe queens that go to the range in a case, get fired, go home, get cleaned, and gingerly put back in safe. they are carried daily by soldiers, they go to the range, and are used on ops. While Colombia doesn't have the BEST soldiers in Latin America, they do understand the importance of taking care of their equipment since they need it to survive. I would say they get about the same level of use as a M16 or M4 in the 82d or a Marine inf. unit. The difference is that the Colombians aren't as proficient at higher echelon maintenance either due to poor infrastructure or maybe lack of spare parts, or both. Look at the level of difficulty of obtaining these replacement parts and actually doing the work, and see what applies to you I guess.

based on the cost of obtaining a high quality semi auto variant in the USA, AK74 hands down...

even if they were the same price, I might lean towards the AK74...

Thank you for the good information.

AK-74 for me. An AK-102, 104, or 105 would be even better (in that order). Ammo availability notwithstanding.