I have one here in Australia (I'm pom who grew up on hot hatches and all things European). its a Sport model and I love it. Takes the whole family on 500-600km trips, swallows all the gear with ease. Smooth, quiet, refined and well built.
It could do with a bit more power but in reality it's more than adequate, CVT works well, fuel economy isn't that great.
I hope you enjoy the new one when it arrives - cant find any UK or Irish reviews as yet though.