Quick, cheap, compact, Nissan Sentra se-r? or..

I'm on a budget of about $8 grand and I'm probably going to go with a smaller 4 door. However, I want something semi-decent looking and it needs to be decently fast. I'm really liking the 03' Nissan Sentra Se-R Spec V as it seems to have gotten pretty good reviews and looks to be about the fastest I can afford. I know there's plenty of faster cars to be had for 8 grand, but keep in mind I want a 4 door, something not horrible to insure, and something decent on gas.

There's a couple other cars on my list however, and I wondered how you guys think they'd compare to the Sentra Se-R.

Mitsu Lancer Ralliart
Mazdaspeed Protege

I don't know a ton about the Ralliart, except that it's in pretty much the same class as the sentra and mazda. I love how the Mazdaspeed Protege looks and I know it's no slouch in speed either, however I somewhat doubt I can find a decent one for under 8 grand. Everywhere I look they seem to be going for closer to 9 or 10, which I just can't do right now being in college.

I'd also love to have a Neon SRT-4, but even the 03's seem to be selling for $11k and over, and I know the SRT-4's are expensive as hell to insure. Same goes for the Subaru Impreza WRX, a little too expensive.

What do you guys think? Are there any other cars you'd recommend that I'm missing?

It seems not a bad choice, but with an 8 gran budget, there is a huge list of sporty 4 doors u can get. If i had 8 gran i would go get the mercedes C230 Kompressor 99, my bro used to own one and i loved driving it soo much... Its also a real boss car. But if your interested in the nissan sentra its not a bad choice. They last a long ass time, i had an old sentra, its been driven 180k miles and its never been taken to the garage for problems.

It seems not a bad choice, but with an 8 gran budget, there is a huge list of sporty 4 doors u can get. If i had 8 gran i would go get the mercedes C230 Kompressor 99, my bro used to own one and i loved driving it soo much... Its also a real boss car. But if your interested in the nissan sentra its not a bad choice. They last a long ass time, i had an old sentra, its been driven 180k miles and its never been taken to the garage for problems.

Hmm, a huge list of sporty 4 doors? I really only want something newer with under 100k miles, preferrably 02 or 03, so I'm not really sure what else is out there.

Acura Integra GS-R
Dodge Neon R/T
cant think of anymore really