Man, I keep on hearing test drive this test drive that. We in Virginia don't have the luxury. MSP, RX8, Mazda 6i, and SRT4 are hot cars and the dealerships here know that so they won't let you test drive any of them. But I also had the same dilema, MSP or SRT4 or Spec V. I knew my budget and I like all three cars.
I decided to choose MSP. There were 2 spec Vs in my neighborhood already and you can see them all over the place. SRT4, they jacked up the price to 25k, so that car is definitely not worth the price. Whatever happened to "performance sedan under 20k????".
Anyways, I chose the MSP cuz that is the only car I know that's hardly out there and is at a good price....plus I like the turbo. Just disappointed it doesn't have a sunroof and cruise control.
Spec V is a better buy, hence you see more of them around than anything, but having people stare at your MSP because there were not a lot made is just priceless, specially when you are blasting the 450w sound system hehehhehehe. All the cars I listed have their own quality, it's just preference. Peace.