hmm I don't know if this thread is already dead ...

I aggree that the default highlighting faces of cperl-mode are not the best and needs adjustment.

Anyway cperl-mode offers plenty of "IDE-like" extras, I have not found in perl-mode. Just have a look at the extra "Perl" menu. Furthermore you will IMHO find lots more of support and compatible minor-modes AND even alternative highlighting-configs in the web, since it's based on c-mode.