Depends on what I wanted to use it for and exactly how much money I had.
The money's are currently unavailable as they no longer are in production though I believe that is supposed to change this year or next. I have access to a M20E Super 21 which is nice but as already said, it's a tight aircraft. With the front seats back all the way, they touch the rear seats.
A 182 is a nice alternative. I have about 15hrs in a G1000 T182T. It's nice and spacious compared to the 172. It also has a pretty good payload as well. However, it gulps 16gal an hour in cruise but only goes 135-145kts at the altitudes we were flying it at. If I were to get a 182, I would go for the new J182T that burns jet-a. Same payload and speeds but burns a max of 12gal in any configuration. However that is a 650k plane.
If I wanted a really light twin, I would go for a g500 or g1000 equipped Seminole. Almost all my multi time is in a none glass Seminole. Easy plane to fly and maintain.
If I was to step up into six seats and I had a lot of money, I would probably skip light/medium piston twins and go straight for a turboprop Socata TBM 850 or the new 900; but those are 3.5/3.75 million dollar aircraft respectively. They offer 325/335kts respectively burning about 40gal an hour in cruise.
And finally, if I needed to haul a large family around and had loads of money, I would get a Kingair 250i or 350i. Something about a Kingair just has me in love with them.
And if I wanted a jet instead of a turboprop, I would get a embraer phenom 300, which costs about the same to buy as a Kingair 350 but does not carry as much but is faster with a longer range.
