Like the BMW 3 series Compact that preceded it in the 1990s, the W203 C class hatchback was one of those experiments by an upmarket German marque to test the waters and see whether the American public would accept a smaller, cheaper offering. Not many folks took notice of the C class Sportcoupe, but much like GM does with its product lineup, Mercedes got it right at the end, offering the 3.2 V6 with a 6 speed manual. Here’s a clean example for sale in Pennsylvania.
For not much scratch, this last year Sportcoupe is an interesting and quite rare alternative to a MINI Cooper S or Volkswagen GTI. A good friend of mine just picked up a clean 30k mile example of this same car with the 6 speed manual, and while it doesn’t drive too dissimilar from my ’07 C230 sedan, it certainly can give the usual hot hatches a run for their money.
-Paul