One thing I love about the Hobie kayaks, compared to my traditional kayak is the time that it takes to get launched. The sit on top design is SO convenient, you spend less time getting into a sprayskirt, and dressing up, and more time out enjoying yourself. Don't let the sit on top design fool you into thinking that you can't brace either. A traditional sit on top kayak makes it impossible to brace, but on a Hobie Mirage kayak, you can always hang on with both hands, while you're feet propel you forward. This means that you can get the boat to react to the water conditions by using your hands to lean the boat one way or another. Finally, the best thing about the Mirage Drive, is that you are always at your most efficient stroke. We all get a little lazy with our regular paddle stroke, but the mirage drive is always crazy efficient, and therefore fun.
I bought my AI purely for the sailing ability and expected to lose out on the fun of kayaking, but was amazed at how much I enjoy it in pure adventure mode (no sails or ama's) My wife's Revolution is a bit more like a barge, which is good for her, it's very steady and always level with the water. My Adventure (AI, but no sail etc) is much more lively on the water, it leans well, and has some secondary stability. What I love most is with it's turbo fins, its faster then my old sea kayak. The traditional kayak has more glide to it, but the efficiency of the turbo fins make it really fast. When I crank the rudder from straight to a turn, the whole boat aggressively leans like a motorboat into the turn.
The TI won't be as lively as a kayak, but with the two of you pedalling, it will be plenty fast, and you'll find that you spend WAY more time enjoying WHERE you're paddling, instead of simply enjoying the fact THAT you're paddling. Oh, and instead of paddling, you'll be pedalling.
Here is a clip of us getting up close and personal with some beavers... it shows you things that you just can't do with a pedal kayak.
http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=27340&hilit=BeaverLong story short, if you're coming from a kayaking background, and your wife is looking for a bit more ease of use, you'll enjoy a Hobie product!