The PE vinyl used to be fantastic. It was stiff (would hide surface imperfections), heavy duty, had a surface that was almost impossible to dig into and the adhesive was crazy, even on bare MDF. You had one chance to put it down right.
However, a few years back, they suddenly started shipping a different product. It was softer, you can see imperfections through it, and the adhesive, while not terrible, is nothing to write home about. It wouldn't be my first choice for a quality job, but it's definitely better than contact paper. I really wish the original product was still available.