£1200 Road bike - should it be fully carbon?

they did an 853 road bike (dunno if it is available this year) it's horrible. dull to ride, and the supposed qualities of steel were not evident, something not quite right with the geometry. to me it felt a bit twitchy at speed but ponderous through the slower turns. something didn't add up with the rake/trail and the rest of the angles. the alloy bike (Aether?) was totally different, did a fast 75miles on one and could have happily ridden it all day.
using an expensive tubeset doesn't always guarantee a good riding/handling frame.

aha. i know one existed, had never ridden it tho. couldnt find it on the site so i guess thyey must have discontinued it.