Ed
G'Day Mate.
I thought that I would chime in here with a few answers to your Qs (pardon the pun).
1. The 300 will sear your steaks really well. The best way to do a steak on the 200/300 is preheat for 10 minutes on high with the lid down. Bring the steak to room temperature before cooking, lightly brush the steak with oil and season with a little salt, place the steak on the grill with part of the steak over the solid part of the grill, close the lid and turn the grill down 1 to 2 strokes below high on each temperature control knob. Cook the steak for 2 1/2 minutes, turn and cook for a further 2 1/2 minutes, remove and place on serving plate, place 1/2 teaspoon of butter on the steak, cover with foil and rest for 5 or so minutes - serve. This is the perfect way for a 19 mm (3/4") steak to be cooked on the medium side of medium rare. For deeper sear marks leave the Q on high and reduce the cooking time slightly. I generally find that less than 2 minutes the meat is still sticking to the grill, you have perfect searing when the meat releases from the grill.
2. The solid part of the grill that is above the burners act as the "Flavouriser Bars". try and place part of the meat over these as the juices that come off the meat will boil of on these and add to he flavour. Cleaning up is not a problem, use a solid plastic scraper to scrape off and residue in the bottom - most runs straight into the drip tray - keeping the bottom generally clean stops the build-up of gunk. Clean-up is relatively easy and definitely easier than with a Genesis or Summit.
3. I have had a Q200 for 4+ years with no problem with the igniter. I had one person bring back a 200 complaining that the igniter did not work - all is was, was the little box that traps the gas was bent up slightly probably on assembly (when they got it home) 10 seconds and it was fixed. The 300 comes with a 5 year warranty.
A few tips
Cleanup - the lid comes off by removing the 2 pins at the back and unscrewing the thermometer. The lid can be cleaned in the laundry sink. The grills come out and can go in the dish washer. Keep the bottom relatively clean - I clean mine with a high pressure hose on a regular basis. Turn the Q upside down after to drain the water out of the burners. After doing this assemble the Q and heat it up for 10 minutes to dry it out - you may need to use a match to light it as the igniter will still be wet.
Cooking - always cook with the lid down You can cook indirect or direct or a combination of both - send me your email address (mine is in my profile) and I will send you some recipes for the 200 which you can use in the 300 and some info on setting up for indirect cooking. Treat the Q as an outdoor oven and grill - you can do cakes, deserts, breads, pizza, grill, roast, stew, low and slow -you name it, it can probably do it. The one thing that it doesn't do is cook like a WSM, but then again nothing else on the planet does that either.
My best advice - go and buy it now - you will not regret it at all.
Best Regards