You have hit on a subject that is near and dear. Yes it is VERY difficult to find a combination that works, and yes I think it is appropriate to have two different sizes front and rear. The car has a rear weight, power and design bulk bias that requires different size wheels/tires.
I purchased and installed a set of Konig Monsoons in June, 2001 with the following specs:
fronts: 15x6.5 +40mm offset tires: 205/55R15 (195/55R15 might have been better) rears 17x8.0 +20mm offset 245/45R17