emanbb6

you live in Talus!! me too. one of the other neighbors said he saw you but ive never seen you around!

rokit

i drive a 1997 Civic HX 5spd w/ 96k for $2500. get's me close to 40mpg if you drive it correctly.

Twanny425

Currently driving a Fit as a DD. Not as fun as the S but gets the job done and has a lot of room.

street_ruler

if you are looking for a manual box, then you are sort of limited with awd cars. there frankly arent that many. and for reference i hate audi's and vw's but thats a personal choice.

more pratical
toyota matrix awd or XRS model
mazda6 hatchback. can be had with the v6 and a manual box
mazda3 GT with all the trimmings
altima SR or whatever trim line has the burly V6 and all the nice trimmings with it
acura RL SHAWD
RSX-S, like an 06. little older but still a sharp lookin car


more fun
mazdaspeed3
mazdaspeed6 - 06 and 07 i think are the only two years for these
civic SI sedan/coupe depending on your version of pratical
Lancer Ralliart, the awd turbo but not EVO model - not sure the price tag on this
Focus ST with the new ecoboost motors- not sure on the price tag on this one


the one thing that keeps the BRZ off this list for me is the fact that its not a hatchback. its a minuscule trunk and that annoys me

SuzukaBlade

my daily is an 08 Lexus IS250 AWD, got it for 26k OTD. went for reliability, comfort and decent gas mileage

EricJT7

VW has indeed had many, many reliability issues over the years, but I think the current GTI is pretty solid overall (Golf 6) with the 2.0 liter turbo TSI Engine (as opposed to the more issue plagued FSI in the 2006-2008.5 models). My brother has a 2010 GTI, and absolutely loves it--I do not believe the car has given him any reliability problems at all. My dad owns a 2010 Jetta TDI with the DSG transmission with I believe around 40-50k miles on the clock, and it as well has not given him any issues and he absolutely loves the car. Both cars have a very nice interior as well, compared with others cars in the same price range--though I have heard VW has actually gone "cheaper" in its interiors since 2010, at least with the Jetta TDI.

My first two cars were VW's (95 Jetta III base--absolute crap with a long list of issues (though I abused the #$%# out of it), and a 2002.5 Jetta GLI--24V VR6 6mt (vastly improved, and other than a check engine light for an oxygen sensor edit: and an electronic problem where the car alarm would go off when it thought the doors were open when I closed them, the car did not have any issues worth noting under my ownership of two years and over 30k somewhat abusive miles). The GLI was actually decently quick for essentially an economy sedan and has a listed top speed of 146 mph--it could keep pulling at 120 (on a closed circuit in the desolate mountains of course )
As to the gas mileage, it is a big reason why I went the VW route.

spets

Prius C?

50mpg, hatchback, low 20k price. Don't know how high it will rate on the "fun to drive" factor though.

I laugh at anyone who thinks a 30 mpg car is economical. My Insight gets 50-70 all day long, although it's definitely a "unique" car.

EricJT7

Back when gas prices were lower, 30 mpg was good enough not to worry too much about how much you were spending on gasoline. However, today even with gas prices going up I would still consider the TDI to be economical, as it generally gets ~40 mpg (above what it is rated)--though with diesel at an extra $1.00/gallon.
I know it has a lot to do with personal taste, but I find the Prius to be downright hideous (sorry to offend many people). I think Chevy got it right with the Volt, but perhaps looks shouldn't be factored into the decision of an economy car, in which this post is more of a rant (sorry)

And despite what I said, if I was going to buy a hybrid I would buy a prius, insight, or CRZ (though not quite as economical), as I would want to go with one that isn't likely to have a bunch of reliability issues (I would steer clear of the up and coming Jetta hybrid or any hybrid from VW).

Anyways, enough of the rant, I think a lightly used Lexus IS 250 AWD (as Suzuka has) /350 AWD would be a great choice and it is most certainly reliable and I imagine still fun to drive.

Formula-2000-

WRX... end of story. That's likely going to be my next car. Can't beat the AWD+turbo, hatch back for room, still plenty of fun to drive, and 25k for a brand new one. The only complaint I would have is that it takes premium and doesn't get great mileage. Otherwise, awesome car!

Manga_Spawn

Honda fit Sport? They get good mileage you can fit an amazing amount of stuff in it and they aren't bad to drive. The new focus is also a nice option or the fiesta ST is coming out soon and will be under your price point. The Focus ST is around $27k I think.

I know personally if I were to buy a daily driver it would have to be something that I wouldn't want to modify at all. A WRX or Evo would not fall into that category. Hell I have even messed with our fit some. I'd stay away from anything Euro more to cost of maintenance than reliability.