I’ve never flown the Magister, so can’t offer a comparison. We didn’t have any sort of Pilot’s Notes for the M18 (Mark 2), but I was lucky enough to be given a check-out by the test pilot who saw KY through its Permit renewal, (Group Captain Retd. Colin Bidie) after he’d done a year or two flying it.
KY was not cleared for aerobatics or spinning but my memories of it are that it really was a pleasure to fly. The controls were well balanced the Cirrus engine gave it an excellent take off performance and a good rate of climb. Stalling was benign and absolutely conventional. Overall it was a very easy and pleasant aircraft to fly, very much easier than its contemporary Tiger Moth, though with nothing like the latter’s character.