I drove the 1.8 in the new C230 hatchback ("sports coupe" my ass), and it SUCKED. Too bad they didnt have a C320 6M available. Engine sounded okay at lower revs but sounded like a vacuum cleaner (odd you noticed the same thing) at upper revs and was rather buzzy. The gearshift was very rubbery...it felt like rubber making contact with rubber, and perhaps it was. Handling was okay but you could feel the 3200 or however many pounds it was in the rather small car, as it had body roll aplenty. And it didn't even have a CD player for a sticker price of 26k