Yes, a fund will give you a broad mix of coupons and maturities. For the most part, however, I think a TIPS fund with average maturity X will perform like a single issue with maturity X.
The performance differences are pretty subtle. If the fund holds high coupon issues, that will have a beneficial impact on duration. And depending on the shape of the yield curve, an actively managed fund may be able to juice the yield by "riding the curve" and selling bonds before maturity. I doubt whether these benefits would offset the extra cost of buying a fund, though.
It really comes down to whether you want the convenience of a fund or the cost savings of buying direct.
To put the cost in perspective, with a real yield of 2%, inflation at 2%, and a fund ER of 0.2%, you're giving up 5% of your return.