I put metal siding on a house last year and the metal cost less than the vinyl would have. I wouldn't have thought that possible. The fabricator was local so no doubt that helped. It would be worthwhile to check into what's available to you locally. It will take time to research but it may pay off well.

I probably would steer away from black if you want to keep the country theme

looks good... it could be timber or an aluminium cladding like UltraClad why don't you knock on the door and ask one of the tradies or phone the builder it looks like the number is on the pink sign?

Hebel is great for insulation but needs to be rendered and painted so more labour means cost was similar to brick and Hebel is susceptible to cracks along joins and damage from bumps and paint and render stains while brick is virtually maintenance free so would not use Hebel or any cladding that needs to be rendered or painted again... "next time" we plan to use well insulated reverse brick veneer clad in galvanised steel to maximise passive solar energy in our cold climate but gal roof and walls not acceptable to some councils and heavy walls not suitable for hot climates and very interested to hear others' experiences comparing traditional brick with other cladding