I have been impressed with Cue renders for a long time but I halos do not want to invest in something that is hard for me to use.

if I tried Vue pioneer, would that give me a good feel for how Vue complete would also work?

Yes, but it has lots of limitations, no import of 3d objects (other than those sold at Cornucopia), limited access to function editor, limited number of plants, watermarks on limited in size renders, and a few more.

You could also download the free Infinite PLE, which will also have watermarks, limited content, but will access to all advanced features. It will feel a lot more like Complete (it's even more advanced, so you might miss some of its features if you go for Complete later!)

It gives an impression, but only a half one. The really good stuff from complete, like ecopainting, creating ecosystem and extra light and atmosphere options are missing.... as well as other stuff like importing 3D models. Infinite may be better indeed, but it has features that Complete is lacking.