Yeh floating flaws
have improved in quality, however I would only use them in IP's, never in my PPOR. As an aside I only install hardwood floors and pass on to others the work for floating floors and other prefinished products.
To make the maths of flooring relevant you need to take it over a longer period.
Lets look at flooring over say 20 years.
a) Hardwood flooring installed and finished $140 per sqm
Maintenance coats every 5 years ($10 per sqm) $40 per sqm.
Total cost over 20 years $180 per sqm.
b) Floating floors installed around $100 per sqm (less for DYI)
Replaced every 7 years - more or less
Total cost over 20 years $300 per sqm.
And if you keep the maintenance coats up then the life of the hardwood floor is almost indefinite.
Having said that though, I can hardly be considered to be objective