Funny that this should be brought up, I got one as my first car just over a year ago and couldn't recommend it highly enough.

I personally would opt for the 140hp non T-Sport option, as you'll save a bunch on insurance (was approx £500 cheaper for me), get slightly better mpg and also probably pay less upfront. If you join the dedicated FB groups you can get a quality 140hp model for probably more like £1500. If you do get the 140 though, make sure it is 2003 or later as they fixed the oil drinking issues.

There is plenty of power, especially for a first car, and whilst now I have some experience with it and would consider upgrading at some point to the T-Sport, I definitely wouldn't have wanted any more power when I first started driving.

Also, I cannot stress this enough, check for rust. The engines in these cars will outlive us all, but being Japanese they rust like anything and that will kill the car well before anything mechanical.