If it were me, I would be going between the South Seas and the Jacuzzi due to the fact I have no experience with PDC and Jacuzzi and South Seas (Artesian) are both reputable company's. As for reliability, you also need to take the dealer into account. 1.5 hours away may not be bad, but they likely will not be as responsive as a dealer that is 20 minutes away.
If you have the local option, I would also look into the following brands (in alphabetical order): Arctic, Bullfrog, Caldera, Marquis and maybe Viking. Sundance, Jacuzzi, and Dimension One are all owned by the same company (Apollo Group). Hot Spring and Caldera are owned by the same company (Watkins) and at the price point I believe you are looking at, Hot Spring and Caldera will be near identical.
Too bad the Nordic dealer is so far away.