Deciding to replace my carpet with something more easily cleaned, I opted for a cork floor. It was for my bedroom, so I wanted something soft and warm to the foot (if possible). With cork being cheaper than wood, this was of course a large bonus.
I’ve now had the cork flooring in my bedroom for a couple of months. In terms of looks, I think it looks just great (and in fact, looks better in person):
http://www.aahz.com/random/cork.jpg
http://www.aahz.com/random/floor1.jpg
http://www.aahz.com/random/floor2.jpg
The installation was super-fast. It was only one room, but the guys were done in a single day.
I wouldn’t say that it feels “warm”, but when my condo got very cold (52F), it was perceptibly warmer to the foot than the wood. I don’t think I would ever worry that it would greet you with a cold shock first thing in the morning.
On the issue of softness though, I’d say that it is essentially a wood floor. I don’t think it would be more nor less liable to scratch than a regular wood floor. If you actually get down on your knees and press a fingernail into it, you can see it depress slightly and come back to its previous shape, but outside of that you would never think it was any softer than regular wood.
With more styles to choose from, a cheaper cost, similar properties in terms of care and durability, more temperate, and the ability to lift out and replace individual damaged tiles, overall I’d say that cork is a better option in all ways than wood. The only issue will be one of perception.
My only issue is that they asked me what color “quarter round” I wanted. I didn’t know what this was so I chose to make it the same color as the tiles. White would have been the better choice for my space, to match the rest of my floor.