AC-DC: You were poorly advised. The M14P is a superb engine. Touch wood, very reliable, powerful and sounds great. OK, it takes a little more work to start than simply jumping in a turning the key like you average Lycoming or Continental, but its performance is far superior IMHO.
Unlike your average 4 pot Lycoming, if you are unlucky enough to drop a cylinder, the engine doesn't just give up - in common with radials from other manufacturers, you can potentially lose several cylinders and the engine still develops sufficient power to keep flying.
Fuel consumption can be high if you run hard, but then one shouldn't compare it to an IO 360 because you're not comparing apples with apples...(although perhaps you were comparing the 18T with other 4 place tourers - I will admit that the 18T is a bit of a blunt instrument).