Mooneys are a bit cramped in the cabin, but they do pretty well for speed. They can cruise at around 175 mph or so with a 200 hp engine. You dont have to have a high performane rating. I need a rating for the 230 hp Cessna 182 that I fly, but it only cruises at about 140. But it can carry more. Always tradeoffs. What do you prefer? Weight carrying, speed, low wing, high wing? Tail wheel for rough fields?
Go to your local airport and ask a few questions, most respectable flight instructors will spend a few minutes to answer some questions. They will also probly have a buying guide or 2 that can give some basic reliability issues, or expensive AD's a particular model may have. Better yet, if you can, see if you can help out for a few hours a week, I spent pretty much a full summer helping fuel planes and mix chemicals for a spraying outfit, learned lots, worked hard, had fun!