The Echelon 4.0C is the compact Echelon: a 4.0-inch barrel on a small grip module, sized to go head to head with the Glock 19 class. It is for the buyer who wants a compact 9mm that carries and also takes a red dot without an adapter plate. It holds 15 in the flush magazine and 18 in the extended one that ships with it.

Its core is the Central Operating Group, a serialized chassis that moves between grip modules, and the slide uses Springfield's Variable Interface System, which mounts more than 30 optics directly. The Glock G19 Gen5 MOS has deeper holster and parts support, but it mounts optics through MOS adapter plates. The Walther PDP Compact is $11 cheaper, 0.4 oz heavier and a quarter inch longer. The Springfield Armory Echelon Alpha 4.0C is the same frame and barrel for $111 less, with a white-dot front sight and one magazine in the box.

Buy the Echelon 4.0C if you plan to run a dot and want it mounted low without plates, and you like a slim grip. Skip it if holster and parts selection matter most; the G19 Gen5 MOS has more of both. Buy the Alpha instead if you don't need the tritium front sight or a second magazine.