I have an opinion. For Sonar, or Cakewalk now - I like using a touch screen. The bakers did a pretty good job at making touch work. I use a PLANAR - marvelous unit. I would buy it all over again. Haven't had to ever worry about drivers - ever. I'm kind of a clean freak, so I keep a bottle of windex handy.. :o)
I also have a presonus solution - RM32ai units, CS18ai unit, and Studio One 3. Once I assembled that together - I became a firm believer in touch screen, tactile hardware like the CS, iPADs to control setup, personal monitoring, remote record\playback and configuration...
No - the CS18 does not work with Sonar, and I didn't buy it to. BUT - A solid controller is a good investment, I won't give up mine... you might want to think through touch though...
Take care,
LL