As part of my current hydroculture experiments, I am using a lot of PVC piping. And while it can be cut with regular woodworking tooling, it can be a bit brittle and crack or even explodes while cutting small pieces. Using the right blade on any saw makes all the differences.
In addition, I need to make a series of stop cuts along a 4 inches pipe. Yes, could be done by hand, but a sliding miter saw has the upper hand in this situation. Quicker, repeatable, even cuts.
And yes, could also be accomplished using one of my old school miter saw boxes, but I digress :-)