Don't give up on DAZ just because of one model.

There are more free DAZ models you can try.

Go to http://www.download.com and type "DAZ" as your search.
Then you will find "Poser DAZStudio 3D Models Pack 1".
It has the following basic models (no morphs): Victoria 3, Micheal 3, Aiko 3, Hiro 3.

(I think Hiro 3 includes all his addon morphs as standard).

I've been using Aiko 3. I'm not into realism in my rendered image so I'm quite happy with Aiko's anime style. I recently purchased Aiko's addon morphs package.

I do agree that buying the morphs as a separate package from the base model feels like your entering into a bottomless pit. It's a bit like the marketing strategy behind Pokemon Cards - you gotta collect the all.