I just recently bought a Nova 12 ga, and I love it. It's super easy to take down for cleaning, and with the plastic coating it's pretty much rust free. It has a few nice features that you won't find on the 870, like a magazine interrupt button so that you can empty the chamber without feeding in a new round, and you can also unload the magazine without cycling the rounds through the chamber. I also like the high visability sight on the barrel.

I heard that it 'kicks like a mule' but it hasn't really been a problem for me- although I haven't put any 3.5" super mags through it yet...

In the end I think it comes down to fit though, they're both great guns so just get the one that feels best. Note that with the synthetic stock on the benelli you really can't have the fit adjusted like you could with a Remington.

-Matt