Is this from experience?
having owned a mid engine car I found them one of the easiest cars to work on ever. everything is in one place, you have full access to the engine by just pooping the rear bumper off. exhausts and manifolds are a doddle to access, compared to the 12 hours needed to access the zed engine.
as for the K series engine, had one of those as well. only issue is the had gasket, and hangar 111 do an upgrade kit that solves that problem.
as for car thrashing, because the car is a lot lighter, the stress put on the engine is lower compared to ragging a car that weighs half a ton more.