Need car suggestion

I drive an econobox, and I hate it. I've hated it since day one, but I'm finally going to cave and decide that reliability and gas milage are a little less important than driving experience, so I'm going to sell it if I can find something I like better. It would also be nice to get out of the loan payments, despite the burden of fixing someone else's problem.

Here's what my next car should be:
1. It should be feather light.
2. It should have amazing handling.
3. It can't be front-heavy. Back-heavy is certainly ok.
3. It should be rear wheel drive. Feel free to talk me into 4WD if you think you can.
4. It needs a low center of gravity
5. Stiff suspension with poor ride comfort is a plus. (I like to feel pebbles.)
6. It needs to be cheap (so probably old if it's a sports car)

Here are the top contenders right now:

Mazda RX7 (1st or 2nd gen)
Toyota MR2 (1st or 2nd gen)
Mazda Miata

I've driven all of these, and while they're certainly not identical, they're all pretty fun considering they're low-displacement motors. Do you have any particular recommendations? I can't tell what sorts of common mechanical problems I'll encounter by driving one or two of each. As far as buying it, I'd like to start with one that's mechanically sound with all kinds of cosmetic problems. I plan on gutting it a bit anyway.

Mazda RX7 (1st or 2nd gen) I have a 3rd gen an 2nd gen N/a will last you a while good an fun to drive plus they look pretty good. Probably the least reliable though.


Toyota MR2 (1st or 2nd gen) More reliable an midengine always enhances the experience but looks of the old mr2's are ahhh.


Mazda Miata ~ Probably the most reliable an pretty quick. Every little power gain you feel because of the car insane lightweight.

I'm a seven owner ~ Personally I'd buy a 2nd gen Rx7 turbo II but that's just me.

Mazda RX7 (1st or 2nd gen) I have a 3rd gen an 2nd gen N/a will last you a while good an fun to drive plus they look pretty good. Probably the least reliable though.


Toyota MR2 (1st or 2nd gen) More reliable an midengine always enhances the experience but looks of the old mr2's are ahhh.


Mazda Miata ~ Probably the most reliable an pretty quick. Every little power gain you feel because of the car insane lightweight.

I'm a seven owner ~ Personally I'd buy a 2nd gen Rx7 turbo II but that's just me.

When I hear someone say they're a "seven owner," I immediately get jealous thinking it's a Caterham, but I have a thing for British cars, so I guess I'm just weird.

I don't mind the styling of the old MR2s. My friend has a 1986 that he's trying to sell, but I'm not so sure how many miles I'll be able to get out of the JDM 1.6 he swapped in. (If it breaks, the car could divide us. It's never a good idea to do this kind of business with friends, but he'll really hook me up if I do. I know for a fact that it needs transmission and suspension work. Knowing the history of the car is important. He sold it to somebody who sold it to somebody who sold it to him. It's a long story.) I'll also need to talk with my parents concerning my current car because, while I'm making the payments myself, the GMAC financing is in my father's name for getting a good interest rate (0%) and the GM Supplier Discount. They've gone through headache after headache with used cars, so I know already that they're not going to be very supportive, but I guess since we have the understanding that it's my car, it might all turn out. What they'll be looking at is that it's going to be costly for me (in more ways than one) if it breaks down on my way to school or work.

Two of my friends had first-gen RX7's. One beat the crap out of it, and the other said that they tend to last longer if you drive them hard. That's good news as far as sports cars go because, most of the time, few people drive import sports cars without flooring it at least weekly.

RX-7! (FB or FC)