When I was young, eager to learn guitar, I always, always wanted a Squire...when I got my first guitar, (chosen by my elder brother, a guitarist of some seven to eight years at this point) it was a Yahama Pacifica.
At first, I was a bit gutted..."A Yahama?! You can get these in Argos!!!!" I thought....but, as I've gotten a bit older (and I hope wiser) I've found I would never part with it...
The Yahama Pacifica, (although not a master of any) is a jack of all trades. It is also a wonderful instrument to learn on. It's solid, it lends itself to all kinds of styles, (I've been in Metal, Punk, Pop and even Country bands with this guitar and it's never once failed me. My amp's blown up, my FX-pedal's power supply's failed and my cables been knackered; but never once has it been down to the guitar)...I'm biased given that I learnt on this guitar, but it's allowed me to explore various styles without ever seeming out of place.
As for prices, pro's and con's, I couldn't honestly give you an opinion; but I would seriously recommend you at least look into the Pacifica; it's not the greatest guitar in the world by any means, but it is VERY versitile.
I'd appreciate anyone else's perspective on this, curious to see what you guys make of the Pacifica?
Hope that's of some use to you,
Regards,
Chris.
Don't worry too much about me, ignore me long enough and I'll go away.