Ive got a Colnago eGRV @Covidcorvid. It's a gravel bike but I ride it on the road a lot too. It's got an ebikemotion rear hub motor - probably the same one that Ribble use actually as they're the most popular brand.
I wouldn't say that hub motors are "not good" - there are pros and cons to all the systems available and like anything, it depends on your particular needs. Buying an ebike is a tricky business though because you've got all the decisions that go with buying a regular bike plus extra considerations around the motor and battery.
I was actually pretty adamant that I didn't want a bike with a rear hub motor initially but in the end I did buy one. Weight was very important to me. I'm very petite and I didn't want a bike that weighed half my bodyweight, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, remember that whatever the motor, they only assist you up to 25kph. So whilst it is true that a high torque motor will compensate for the weight of the bike up to a point, as soon as you exceed 25kph you are on your own. My ebike weighs about 12kg, so light by ebike standards, but I still notice the extra weight when it stops assisting (My "best" normal roadbike weighs 7kg as a comparison.) I don't fancy trying to pedal a 24kg bike without assistance. Also, if you are ever going to take your bike anywhere by car or public transport the weight can be an issue. I don't think I could lift a bike much heavier than mine into the back of my car for instance.
Mid drive motor bikes tend to be heavier, both because the motors themselves are heavier and because motors with more torque tend to drain the battery quicker, so to maintain range they need bigger, and thus heavier, batteries. So if weight is particularly important to you you are likely to opt for a bike with a hub motor.
The biggest downside of a rear hub motor is, as you've obviously already realised, that they tend have less torque. Mine has 3 assist levels ranging from 20-40 Nm. Some e mountain bikes can provide 100 Nm and plenty of smaller mid drive motors will manage up to 75, so there is quite a difference. The difficult issue is deciding what you need. I worried that my bike might not have enough but to be honest its not been an issue. I ride with it in its lowest setting most of the time and only use the higher levels of assistance for steep hills. But it's a difficult question to answer. How much assistance you need depends on all kinds of things, including obviously how much power you can provide yourself, but also the weight of the bike, the bike's gearing and the kind of terrain you're riding on. I've only briefly ridden a couple of bikes with powerful mid drive motors and to be honest I didn't like it much. It almost felt like I was being pushed from behind. I could see that they would be great on some super steep bit of a muddy mountain bike trail, but that's not really my kind of riding and I find the lower assistance of my bike feels more natural and is plenty for my needs. I would think that many people would find a relatively low level of assistance fine for the type of riding you describe, but it's such a personal thing that it's hard to say. Not being able to try one out does make it a lot harder for you to decide. If you can possibly get to ride any ebikes at all befire you buy, even if it's not the actual model you are interested in, it would be worthwhile.
The other significant disadvantage of rear hub motors is that getting the back wheel off is a bit of a palaver. I wouldn't fancy changing an inner tube at the roadside. Rear wheel punctures are a bit of a pain on a normal bike but worse on one with a hub motor. There's ways to minimise that problem though. Some people use special puncture resistant tyres but I 've opted for "self healing" inner tubes - both options add a bit of weight but not huge amounts.
Other differences are that there's a tendency for drive train components to wear more quickly on mid drive bikes and of course the aesthetics are different - but we all have different views on what looks nice!
One other practical consideration is charging. I keep all my bikes in the house anyway so it doesn't bother me that the battery on my bike isn't removable. But if you don't have space or don't want your bike indoors then you might be better to get one with a battery that's removable. That way you can bring the battery in to charge and leave the rest of the bike in the shed.
Hope that helpsca bit and good luck with your search.