I agree with MTI and believe a 190E-2.6 Sportline with manual transmission would be very nice and possibly the pick for a W201 daily driver. Unfortunately, we did not get them in Australia. The 190E-2.6 automatics I have driven have impressed me with their power and smoothness (I am a fan of the M103) but I do enjoy the sportly feel of my manual 2.3 Sportline, even if the M102 is not as powerful or smooth (it is torquey though). My 2.3 Sportline is believed to be the only manual 2.3 that was delivered in Oz and I believe there may be one or two 2 litre Sportlines. There have been a few 2.6 Sportlines advertised here recently (I suspect a few are grey imports from Japan) but all have been automatics. Even in non Sportline I believe all our 2.6 were automatics. I would not swap my 2.3 manual Sportline for a 2.6 automatic, and even a 2.6 Sportline automatic would probably not tempt me (one with a 3 litre M103 conversion on the other hand would be tempting).

I have noticed that the Sportlines in North America did not get Sportline badges like ours. Ours also got the same 7" x 15" ET44 15-hole wheels as the 2.3-16 whereas in North America they got 8-hole wheels (6.5" possibly from the late W124 I believe).

Only today I learned of a manual 2.6 at a damaged car auction in Australia. Unfortunately, it is about 1000km away from where I live. Also, as much as a manual 2.6 Sportline would be nice, that damaged 2.6 manual together with my 2.3 manual Sportline still would not be the right ingredients to end up with a 2.6 manual Sportline. If my car was a 2.6 automatic Sportline then that damaged car would be a good donor for a manual conversion. Pics of the car at the auction house (probably won't be after the auction) are at http://www.pickles.com.au/servlet/Auction/VehicleDetail?item_id=452000171 and checking the VIN (WDB2010292F643756) at http://www.mbclub.ru/mb/vin/index.html?lng=eng confirms it as a 2.6 manual. Strangely, it also confirms it as "625 version for Australia" but also states that it was delivered in Great Britain.

__________________
107.023: 350SLC, 3-speed auto, icon gold, parchment MBtex (sold 2012 after 29 years ownership).
107.026: 500SLC, 4-speed auto, thistle green, green velour.
124.090: 300TE, 4-speed auto, arctic white, cream-beige MBtex.
201.028: 190E 2.3 Sportline, 5-speed manual, arctic white, blue leather.
201.028: 190E 2.3, 4-speed auto, blue-black, grey MBtex.
201.034: 190E 2.3-16, 5-speed manual, blue-black, black leather.