@Mark-drinks-coffee which Comandante grinder do you have and have you tried grinding fine enough for espresso? @n8spresso mentioned that hand grinding for espresso is not as much of a chore as expected, however if I remember correctly the JX Pro is significantly faster than a Comandante C40 for example. Keep in mind it might take 2 or 3 tries (maybe more) to initially dial in your espresso and grinding will be harder work and more time consuming for espresso vs. pourover.
If you don’t intend to mod a classic I would personally stay away from it. Brewing at higher pressure and having to temperature surf is a huge faff to get even average results. Pressure quickly reduces when steaming milk, so you have to work around this.
I had a Classic and Sage Barista Pro side by side and even though the Barista Pro is far from ideal, I would probably take it over a stock classic. I don’t like the “thermojet” systems in the Sage machines (bambino and Pro) and they are difficult/costly to repair out of warranty. Saying that, it may be worth looking at a Sage Duo Temp Pro (£280 at John Lewis for example) if you want to figure out whether home espresso is for you. It uses a thermocoil system and I know some members have enjoyed using it in the past before upgrading. Combined with good water you may get decent use out of it?
What roast level do you drink? The Sage thermocoil/thermoblock machines are not ideal for lighter roasts but should be ok for medium/dark.
I quickly moved on from Delonghi/Gaggia/Sage machines and settled with a Minima/Niche combo. Much easier to get great results with good temp stability, excellent microfoam for milk based drink and easy adjustability and far less coffee wastage with a Niche.