Well, I've got about 100 hours now in that fine machine that you saw me show up to Ames in, a 1974 M20F Executive.
145 KTAS at about 10.5 GPH. Interior is actually better than a Cherokee space wise. Additionally, the seat backs are easily removable (takes about 2 minutes for both, once you get the trick down), which gives you an awesome cargo area. I have some pictures of taking a bunch of dog crates in there with that configuration.
In terms of bang for the buck and what you can likely afford, the M20F is probably what you're looking at (unless you want the smaller Mooney). The Js are expensive. You can get an M20F for under $50k easily. The electric gear is nice. It does have a reputation for failures. The M20F I fly has had two gear-up landings in its life, however neither of them were due to the electric gear. One was due to pilot error ("What's that buzzing sound?") and the other was due to the nose wheel physically not coming down. This was not due to the electrics, it was because it got kinked when some line guy turned it too far. There are two different electric gear motors as I understand it. One requires inspections every 100 hours, the other one doesn't. The manual gear extension seems to work well, at least it has when I've practiced using it. It's fairly low effort.
This plane had seeping wet wings. You can have them resealed, but when the owner talked to the various places that reseal the, it was basically about $5000-$7000, and it wasn't guaranteed. The places that did the sealing didn't want to do it, and said they really don't recommend it because it only gets worse with time. The "proper" fix is to get bladders installed, which we did, to the tune of $11k. Nowever that also gives you 64 gallons total (up from... I think 58?), so that is a nice upgrade for long XCs.
As an IFR XC machine, the M20F is great. I had no issues hopping in it and flying out to Ames. It's very stable, has a nice cruise speed with fuel burn only slightly higher than a 172 or Cherokee, and after a few months you convince yourself that the aesthetics are "unique" rather than "ugly."
The owner of the M20F I fly does not want it landed on grass, so I haven't. I don't see why it would be an issue, but it's his plane so it's his choice. It's not the best short field plane in the world (the Archer definitely takes off faster), but I think you'd still be fine at Gaston's and 6Y9. If it were my plane, I'd fly it into and out of the two of them.
For a while, we were dabbling with the idea of me buying into the plane rather than my rental arrangement. The only reason I didn't was because I wanted a twin. I even considered buying into it in spite of my plans to buy a twin, but decided that really wasn't a smart move. I don't fly enough to justify owernship in two planes.
The first year of ownership for them seemed to be about comparable to what my first year of ownership has been on the Aztec. Every time they flew it it seemed like something else went wrong on it or they discovered a new "quirk." Like I said, my Aztec ownership experience has been somewhat similar, and so I attribute that more to the previous owner than to any inherent Mooney characteristics.
There is a turbo STC for the M20F, and I've noticed it doesn't add a tremendous amount to the resale value. I will tell you that if I were buying one, I'd go for that, but that's because I like to go on long XCs where if I had the turbo and O2, I'd climb up high and take advantage of the winds and higher TAS.
For a good deal on a single engine IFR XC machine, I can't say enough good things about the M20F. It's really a very practical and economical machine. The only reason I would consider, say, a Comanche, would be if I were to get the 6 cylinder. Otherwise I have flown both, and prefer the M20F hands down.
