I've owned a Meg, a Roc and Clio 3 x2. Went back to a Clio 3 for what it's worth.
Roc is great, refined, fast, well put together but a little meh, needed a DSG remap to get over the appalling mapping and didn't handle as well as a Meg or Clio but not a lot really does. Long doors were a pain at times too
Meg is relatively refined, suspension was ok for me (inner Melb so tram tracks, shit surfaces etc.), nice engine, not much go wrong with them, poor 3/4 visibility and immensely capable but need a lot of speed to really come alive
Clio 3 is more fun, more of the time and still quick enough. Stock suspension is too firm for inner city - mine has AST5100 on their softer springs and it rides very decently and handles brilliantly. Synchros can be a problem, have rebuilt my box and added a Quaife so it's good for a long time now. As Speedfiend said, the interiors are bit low rent, i have soundproofed mine and it's a different place to be, definitely worth a little time to do it.
RB8 and 8:08 are great specs in the older Meg, newer a 275 cup premium is the pick but might be above your budget
You probably need to drive a clio to see if it floats your boat, if it does, it will be clear pretty quickly.
good luck!