[Neva2wicked]

Well it all depends on your particular driving habits. For the most part, you'd want any car that came with the SR engine: G20, 91-94 Sentra SE-R, NX2K, 95-98 200SX SE-R, 98-01 Sentra SE. Those would be your best choices since they come with the SR engine. With that engine in mind, you could eventually turbo it later, or you could easily swap in the SR20DET engine.

Since you're looking for some decent punch, I'd stay away from the 1.6L (GA) engine. It does have potential, but in its current state (aftermarket wise) it can't compete with the SR. There are several individuals who are making progress though, so in the near future we may gain some ground.

Or if you're really bold, you could easily find an early 90s 300zx since it has quite a bit of punch stock. However, just like the 3000gt, maintenance is going to cost an arm and a leg

 

[Neva2wicked]

great post Neva2wicked. yeah, i'm not sure I trust the reliability and repair costs of a 300zx, even though if i could afford two cars it would probably be one. btw, what is a NX2K? thanks a lot, once again

The NX2k is the NX2000. I believe it was made between 91-93 (someone correct me if I'm wrong). I've actually seen a couple of them around and IMO they look similar to the Mazda MX-3. (Their front brake setup aka Big Brake upgrade is a great upgrade for the several of the B14 cars) I really don't know much about it but if you check out: SR20 board You'll get all the info you need on the SR-powered cars.
Good luck in your search

On a side note, and I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to include this in my previous post. If you do go with the 1.6L cars, you could always turbo them with the Hotshot kit for about 3k(check out the NPM article), or swap in the SR20det, SR2016ve, or the SR20VE for around 5- the latter two being Nissan's version of Vtec. With such swaps, you would have to swap out the engine, transmission, axles, and a bunch of other miscellaneous parts.

If the car you decide to buy one that comes with the Sr engine, the swaps will be much cheaper.
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If you would like to remain with the Mitsu line-up, here's another option. A friend of mine went with a 96 Mitsubishi mirage (he lives in NC) and is currently in the process of swapping in the 4G63T from the Evolution VIII. Its the perfect swap for anything before the 97 model, though the process is much like the GA-SR swap for Nissans. The info can be found here: Mirage Engine swaps
All the FAQs you need for the Mirage

Good luck in your search