I went shooting with a friend of a friend who had a odd principle, in that he only owns and shoots big-cartridge Dan Wesson revolvers, but he bought Hi-Point pistols in 9, .40, and .45, almost as if to say he wants to be well-rounded enough that he has all the major cartridges, but doesn't want to pay any more money than absolutely necessary to do it.
I shot them all, I didn't particularly LIKE shooting them. I told him I wouldn't keep one for defense, he said he wouldn't either, his Raging Bull .454 was his defensive gun. I switched to shotguns for the rest of the day.
The reason they are blocky and ugly is that they are blowback-operated. They are the only major-caliber guns I can think of that work this way. They have to have a big heavy slide and spring to hold them shut until the bullet clears the barrel. IN THIS, I think they are made to skip around one of the critical processes in designing an automatic handgun. This is why they are cheaper.
Cheap? Yeah. Do they work? Yes. So does a rock.