Not exactly relevant - but I have an old Necchi - the only thing it still does is straight stitch forwards and backwards. The zigzag and other stitches have become disabled. I was going to toss it, but am slightly reconsidering keeping it.
BUT - it will chomp through three layers of jean seams! Slowly with a thicker needle - but it will sew through that thickness.
Depending on your sewing style - sometimes fewer features are better.
I have several (I liked the machines! - and i got them reasonably several years ago) Singer 237 fashionmate machines that only do straight stitch and zigzag. They will waltz through six layers of cotton fabrics and two layers of polypropylene webbing without fussing. As KalamaQuilts says - one does need a sturdier (larger needle) and to slow down.
Down side - they are flatbed machines. And they are heavy.
Upside - fairly simple and hard to mess up.
I am behind the times - my newest machines were probably built in the mid 1980s.
The only thing none of my machines have is the buttonhole/applique stitch.
As a relative beginner, it is hard to know what one might be doing next. I hate when the salesperson asks "what do you want to do with it?" (As in looking at a computer - or a sewing machine.)
The reasons I have not upgraded:
Don't want to spend the money
Not motivated enough to learn how to operate a highly computerized machine
I am old(er)
And, except for the applique stitch, can't think of anything I can't live without.
I have made some bags. I know nothing about the machines you are looking at.
Good luck.