I had a Coda Femme for 4 years. It was my "second" bike, which was used for errands, farmer's market runs, and short rides. But, I also rode up to 50 miles on this bike.
My personal opinion is that for a moderately priced bike, this one can serve a lot of purposes. The steel ride is smooth and often made me feel like I was back being a kid, riding my 3 speed Raleigh! I had a pannier on this bike and I barely noticed it, even when full. The bike was stable as heck. That said, the Coda is heavy, so if you have to lift it up stairs, etc., that might be a pain. The components are lower end. Now, this is from my perspective as someone who is used to riding a carbon bike. I never could get my average speed up as high as it is on my carbon bike on the Coda. There was a 2-3 mph difference. Since the purpose of this bike for me was not speed, it wasn't really important, but I think it speaks to the weight of the bike. I'm a light weight; I know others have this bike and see no differences.
I thought the Coda was pretty upright and know nothing about the Allegro. But, I have had aluminum bikes and I would chose the Coda over an aluminum bike any day, if the price and components were equal. The Coda just made me smile.