In search of a fun and reliable car for below $7000.

[burntheasphalt]

Ive been considering cars like
Subaru Impreza sti (before 05)
Audi A4 or S4, which is the one that has AWD? Im confused.
VW Golf GTI (somewhere around 04)

I pretty much want something reliable, fun, and practical in the sense that I wont need a 2nd car in case of things like I need to pick up my aunts kids or something, but dont have enough seats.

I hear a lot about how I'd need to do a lot of preventive maintenance with these cars, and the mistake a lot of people make with these cars is they go from honda/toyota where they had to spend a minimal of $300 a year to maintain it and assumed the same with these brands, then when they break down they say its unreliable. I wouldnt mind spending $1000 a year or so to keep these well maintained, but I'd like knowing how much I need to do before hand.