Nick, I agree with what you about the weight. power etc but when I was referring to it being a delight to use (you use the term handling) I meant at low speed. I doubt that there are many conventional TR aircraft that can be 'booted' around with such control and abandon, regardless of wind strength and direction, as a good, modern fenestron. Well not a civil aircraft anyway. Having seen the video of Nick flicking his Commanche from side to side at 80 kts I'm sure he'd concede that point!
Nick mentions the fan being on the driveshaft centreline and this has the effect of pronounced 'tail rotor' roll, compared to a conventional TR with an intermediate gearbox and vertical fin. Up to 4-5 degrees in the hover. Slightly uncomfortable but helps visual reference for vertical work (from the RHS, hinders for the LHS).
If you are going to have a driveshaft failure, have it in a fenestron aircraft; as long as there's no secondary damage and you have a runway to go to, it should work out quite well. On the other hand, if you have no runway and opt for an autorotation, you get some unwanted input from the vertical fin as you increase the speed.