I am pretty new to cat-sailing, actually to sailing as such, started last year - on a NACRA 5.0. The Baltic sea (northern Germany) is my sailing area, and the boat did remarkably well under all conditions, low winds as well up to 7 bft with appropriate waves (by accident ...). Contrary to the Hobie 16 the NACRA is very easy to control - and it tacks without drama! This boat provided so much fun that my girl-friend and me won the prize of our club for the most frequent sailors last year.
I had the opportunity to sail a Hobie 16 last year, too, it is still the most widely distributed boat to rent. I never felt as safe as on the NACRA, these outdated banana-shaped hulls make the boat very unpredictable (at least to me...) if it gets rough.
Obviously the sense of "the beauty of a boat" differ here in Europe from the US. These banana-shaped design are regarded as outdated over here, and you see less and less of them. For good reason Hobie Europe is manufacturing the new designs of Fox, Tiger, and FX One. The Hobie 16 is still available (through import, I guess), but you have to prepared to loose money if you try to sell it again.
At my club with approx. 30 privately owned boats, we still have one each of Hobie 16, 17, and 18 left, but there are 4x Dart 18s, 3x NACRA 5.0 / 500, and 3 NACRA Inter 17 / F17 - just to mention the smaller/ beginner boats.
To cut a long story short: as long as you don't plan to participate regularly in racing in a single class, I see no reason to sail a Hobie 16. The NACRA will provide more fun (for one as well as for two sailors), it's easier to control, and will go in the majority of conditions faster.