The Q400 isn't difficult to load correctly it just has a pretty narrow CofG (despite what the Bombardier website says) and is trim sensitive due to it's length. If you're hand flying it you can feel the cabin crew walking up and down the cabin. The CofG limits are well within the aircraft capabilities otherwise it wouldn't be certified. It would be easy to exceed these limits, depending on where the actual MACTOW is, if, for example, you had a bundle of passengers move from one end to the other but that is probably true of most types.
I can't compare it to the baby models as I've never flown them but general handling wise it's not too bad. The biggest problems come from the limited flare available because it's so long and you WILL get a tail strike at 9 degrees pitch. Also the stiff landing gear doesn't give ego stroking touch downs like the 146. It doesn't have any major snags that don't befall any straight wing turbo prop. But I digress.
It does not have a variable incidence tailplane.