2006-07 Honda Accord V6 Manual or 2004-06 Nissan Maxima SE?

My wife wants us to replace our 1990 Nissan Maxima SE manual with something newer; she's saying year 2000 or later. To me, our '90 Maxima is a beautiful classic, but to her, it's just an old car.

What we like about our '90 Maxima:
-- Seats 5 comfortably
-- Manual transmission
-- Sporty
-- Luxuriously comfortable
-- Very reliable

I'm leaning toward two models:
-- 2006-07 Honda Accord V6 manual
-- 2004-06 Nissan Maxima SE manual

Accord advantages:
-- Even more reliable than Maxima
-- For 2007, the V6 manual was available in the light blue that my wife would like best
-- Nicer interior
-- None of the design weirdness of the 2004-08 Maxima

Maxima advantages:
-- Better handling?
-- Roomier rear seat?
-- None of the design blandness of the 2003-07 Accord

Other models I've considered:
-- 2000-03 Audi A6 Manual. A very nice car, and the AWD would be nice, but reliability is very low and maintenance costs are very high. Also, have to choose from the slower 2.8 or the 2.7 turbo with super-high maintenance costs (have to pull the engine to replace the unreliable twin turbos!).
-- 2005+ Subaru Legacy 2.5i. The AWD would be nice, and it would be easy to find a light blue that my wife like best, and reliability would be very good. But not as roomy rear seat for 5 adults, and not as sporty.

If you've had experience with both, what are your thoughts and suggestions?

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