2005+ have the updated interior, which I like a lot more than the original interiors. The sport package, if you're so inclined, also comes with more stuff, primarily suspension and brake upgrades. My preference would be a 2005 C230 6-speed, but your wife might rather prefer the smoothness of the V6 in the C240 instead, at the cost of power and gas mileage. Or, get the C320, which is quite a bit faster than the first two.