I've been really happy with my Mazda 6. It has 6 cylinders and feels sporty while staying relatively compact. It's a manual transmission and gets good gas mileage for the way I drive it. I would estimate I get 25 mpg, and I do mostly "city driving", not on the highway. It's roomy and has an attractive styling and interior. The trunk has enough space for us to pack up our gear for 4 people to go camping for the weekend. We've only had to service it once when the power steering went out, the dealership performed the service for free, gave us a free oil change and car wash. It's not a sport package model, but I've always felt for an economy car it had a sport suspension feel and handles well in corners. I've always felt safe - it has 4 door side airbags in addition to the driver and passenger airbags.