This is actually my second Stratus. My '97 Stratus was a great first car (bought it the day I graduated from college). I test-drove the 04 Stratus and was very comfortable with the car, the cabin and the trunk are spacious, but the car still feels small when weaving through highway traffic, or negotiating the city streets (and parallel parking). The visibility out of these cars is great (at least the front..). This time though, I went with all the bells and whistles (V6, leather, sunroof, 17" alloys..) even with all this, it was $21k - new. It has a great sound system, comfortable seats, and it is real fun to drive, and I can still use it to haul stuff around for my house. I wish the transmission were a little smoother - it still feels a bit unrefined when compared with the Altima or the Passat, and the interior appointments cannot compare with that of the Passat or the Accord. I would not do all the options again, the Stratus is a basic car, even with all the options, it's still just a Stratus.