It's a good bike overall. Buddy of mine rides an '00 300EXC; I've got an '02 300MXC. They're all similar...naturally there's a little more grunt with the 300 vs. the 250. The 2000 models were KTM's first use of the 43mm WP's, and that's probably the weakest year in the last 7 or 8 for KTM forks. My '02 WP's may be a little better, but I still re-valved (as did my buddy with the '00). They were just too harsh for me.
The switch to KTM will be a bit of a change...just about every neat little difference from Japanese comes with its own set of issues. The hydraulic clutch is cool but can leak at the master cylinder or get a small hole in the line and ruin your day (fairly rare, though). The PDS shock eliminates the hassle of linkage maintenance, but they use a teflon-coated heim bearing at the lower pivot, which is a poor choice for a dirty environment...if you ride in the mud, plan to change it every 40 hours or so.
The good news is that there is a whole lot of KTM-specific discussion groups and web sites dedicated to making your KTM experience a positive one. There are probably more one-off specialty aftermarket companies serving KTM's than any other brand of motorcycle. Companies like eRider, Enduro Engineering, Flatland Racing, etc. It's amazing how many cool aftermarket goodies are available for KTM's, and how willing our KTM brothers and sisters are to help each other out. Depending on your kind of riding, handguards might be all you need to get out and ride the EXC. You won't be disappointed.