I had the opportunity to drive an early 00s MR2 and an 05 Mazda6 wagon. The MR2 was peppy, had plenty of pull for such a small car but it was way too small for me. I never liked coupes in general, with the exception of the C3 Corvette- grew up with a couple of uncles who had them, what was not to like? Anyway, the 6 was big but not too big, comfy but not overly so and the 3.0 V6 had enough getup to not be boring, and it handled well. In fact, it sold me enough that I bought my wife the sedan version in 2006, albeit with the 2.0L 4 mated to a 5MT. She liked it well enough but I loved that car- despite being FWD, it was sporty, great on corners and even tho the 4 was only good for 140hp, that MT meant you could milk it for every one of them. But it was red and I have never personally owned a red car before that one. Always struck me as a 'girl' color. Had it been black, I might have kept it and traded my 626 in for that drop top Mustang that she just had to have. That 626 went in trade for a Dodge Charger, so no complaints there.
