They are surprisingly fun to drive! I too rented one (brand new 4 cylinder SE) while I was in the west coast recently. I put on about 1000 miles in 3-4 days, even took it breifly off road in Death Valley, lololol. IMO it had plenty of power for a 4 cylinder and handled great on road (even fully loaded with 4 passengers). Off road was another story, but I did make it in and back out alive and without getting stuck
As far as gas mileage, I did not fare as well as you, during the time I had it I averaged ~21-22 MPG overall; but admittedly I was travelling at kind of high speeds on the highway and going up and down the side of mountains. I can definitely see getting 30+ MPG without a sweat if driven more sensibly and not on mountain roads.
All in all, a pretty impressive car indeed.