That sounds like a good price for a sportivo! they seem to mostly be around 18k from the ones i've seen. BTW the manual euro is a 6 speed, not a 5 (unlike the auto). The auto box does come with tiptronic, it is a very smooth ride but not a lot of fun.. more of a nice cruisey car.

The manual euro has a bit of torque (just a little bit :P), but being a relatively small engine for the size/weight of the car you do need to give it a bit for some power, but it'd probably be similar in the corolla, albeit the corolla being more fun due to its lighter weight

In terms of fuel, I'm not too sure about the sportivo, but I constantly get around 10km/L in my euro, but do have a standard (non sportivo) Corolla in the family which no doubt delivers much better fuel economy than the euro.

I think at the end of the day it comes down to whether you want a fun or a luxury/cruising car. Sorry about the long post, didnt realise I was typing so much.. good luck!