On the bench (if that is your purpose) you want hefty station, when you hit buttons, spin knobs and move the handpiece, the station itself shouldn't move.
TL;DR: different people have different priorities. I'm happy with my tiny soldering station, so happy that gave away my hefty unit to a friend.
Actually, I like small equipment, so I can put more on my bench. I don't have problems pressing the knobs (because I grab the station with index finger, but that's alright, I don't change temperature too often. But even if I had, I'm still not willing to pay extra for this. I'd rather glue the station to my bench, or install rubber feet, or something.
I'm also a price-sensitive person. There are trade-offs I can make. The only thing I demand is, probably, safety. Rest can be fixed:
1) grounding -- my tip is grounded from the factory, I checked.
2) ESD safety -- not sure what this means, the tip is grounded, I am grounded, I feel safe. Moreover, many stations are not declared as esd-safe, or it costs extra (hello, ersa) to get them made of conductive plastic. But, again, what's the point if tip is grounded? Anyway, I'm yet to kill something with esd. Even sensitive mosfets survived my soldering (probably, due to integrated zener on the gate). Actually, I'd rather connect tip via a 1Meg resistor to prevent accidental shorting, like my wristband.
3) reliably -- just change caps, or replace the power supply, it costs about $20, not a big deal. I also have a fire alarm in the lab, just in case (though it does only sound, it doesn't alert fire brigade). And house insurance.
So, I'm not saying everyone should share my value. I'm saying that there is a demand for cheap small compact soldering stations for those who don't solder 8 hours a day. I even like it has a clock on it. That's totally unnecessary, as many other feature it has, but I like it. It's a gadget.
So, let's praise diversity -- if one wants a brick that can survive a nuclear war there is Pace. For people on a small budget there is ksger. These are two different markets, afaik, and I'm glad both ends are covered.