The Elise and the MX-5 are wonderful, but they don't work out for family use. My parents visit from India, my sister and her family come over, and renting cars was getting a bit annoying. So I decided to that I had to get a 4 door.
The conditions were simple. It had to be the largest manual transmission equipped 4 door sedan I could find. I had an '07 Camry 4 cylinder which at the time I bought it was the biggest manual transmission car in the US market, but i sold it after 11 months, I sold it because I couldn't take its lousy engine and absolutely terrible throttle programming (set up for emissions, without regard to drivability), plus it was dreadfully dull. The next choice was the new 2008 Honda Accord 4 cylinder. Its even roomier than the Camry, plus its got much superior engine, transmission, handling, steering, everything. I would have bought this for sure, but for one thing. I had recently had a chance to drive a used '07 V6 Accord with the manual transmission. I did not like the automatic V6 much but the manual V6 was brilliant!
This is an EXCEEDINGLY rare car, made only in '06 and '07, at a ratio of about 1 manual V6 for every 2000 V6 automatics. it is not as roomy as the Camry, never mind the new Accord, and does not have the ride/handling/steering qualities of the new Accord, but the combination of the superb V6 engine and very sport 6 speed manual transmission was truly wonderful. So I set about locating a new one and found 11 remaining unsold in the entire US. I started negotiating on a couple and ended up buying one at $5000 under list price.
The car is fully equipped with no options. 244hp V6 (0-60mph in 5.9 seconds), 6 speed manual transmission, navigation system with touch screen and voice activated control, satellite radio, 6 CD Changer, leather upholstery, heated seats, heated mirrors, sunroof, side curtain airbags, side airbags,etc.
A review for the '06 (same as the '07) can be found here
2006 Honda Accord EX V-6 Sedan reviews - CNET Reviews
i'll post pictures at some stage. So far the only disappointment is that the driver's seat is artificially restricted from going too far back. I am going to disassemble seat and remove the obstrution so that I can get the legroom I need (I am 6'3").
other than that, its superb. the engine is magical, powerful, torquey, smooth, the steering, ride, etc are all excellent. The handling is obviously no match for my miata or my Elise, or the BMW 330i I used to own, but for the purpose of carting family around, its passably good, and its just so relaxing after I get beaten up by my sports cars.
I would have bouhg the '08 Accord if I could have gotten the manual transmission with the V6 but its not available like that in the sedan unfortunately.
Just wanted to share!