01V96i Integration With Cubase

Been looking at the 01V96i as part of my transation to Cubase, and I’m hoping you guys can give me some information and/or advice.

My “biggie” question has to do with how deeply the 01V96i is integrated with Cubase…would it be comparable to that of Avid’s Artist series controllers? Can you readily control VST plugins, both Steinberg and third party? Can you use it to write automation? How is the workflow overall?

I noticed one post on this forum where the poster indicated there were some issues with latency when recording. Is this a problem when trying to do “live” instruments or vocals?

Overall, would the 01V96i be a good choice for recording use only? Or if there is a better alternative please let me know about it…

Thanks, and I appreciate any help you might be able to give me…