Friend of mine has the Nissan Sunny GTi with the same engine, the SR20DE. Pretty good if you ask me, nice torque..but not too much high end power. Very reliable..no problems so far..but hey it's Japanese
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Suspension wise..they are pretty good but expect it to have worn bushes..especially on the anti roll bar linkages.
Not so sure if it's economical though..but that comes down to how you drive it I guess..
I'm not sure if it's sold in the UK but another car in this class is the Toyota Carina GTi..also 2ltr engine..extremely reliable and comfy.. (for it's price..duh)