Buying first car - Open to ANYTHING

[Winnipeger95]

Hello, everyone,


I've been saving for my first car for years now, and I'm finally ready to drop 25k and hit the roads.

I've been driving for almost 2 years or so, automatic, but learning to drive a standard. So, I'd ideally like my new vehicle to be 6 speed manual, but I guess 5 speed will do.


I'm looking for something sporty and fun to drive, but still practical enough to use as a daily commuter. Ideally a 4-5 seater, but 2 could do in a pinch. As a student, fuel effeciency is important to me, so 25 MPG city is a MUST, I really can't do anything lower than that.

My daily commute currently involves about 15 minutes each way, pretty short, plus coming home/going out for lunch pretty often, so an average of 30-40 minutes per day in the car. It's all city driving, highway driving for me is pretty rare when it comes to daily commuting. I would like to take it out on the weekends and do some backroad driving though. Next year however, I'll be attending university, and my daily commute will rise to around 1 hour/day plus traffic, with mainly city driving but some highway as well.

I live in Winnipeg, officially the world's coldest major city, and we get snow. Lots of it. So, I'd ideally like something that can handle the weather well, and something with a good heating system. This is very important, I've used Hondas in the past and they've proven to be great at quickly and efficiently heating the cabin, but again, I'm open to anything that will work well. (slightly off topic, how bad are RWDs in snow? Considering that winter's about 8 months here, it needs to work well for extended periods of time).

Ironically, Winnipeg also gets some of the hottest summers in all of Canada, so a convertible would be nice to try. I could get an MX-5 for around the top of my budget if I shop around, but how well do these do in the winters? Softtop or hardtop?

I know that this is a lot to ask, especially for 25k, but hopefully you guys know what I could get for that. The Scion FR-S looks nice, but the cabin is a little lackluster, and it's at the top of my budget. Any recommendations?

To summarize,

Budget: 25k

-Manual, 6 speed ideally
-Good heating
-Good winter driver
-Over 25MPG city
-Sporty handling
-4-5 seater ideally, but 2 can do
-Convertible? Maybe a sunroof?

Thanks again for the help.

-Chris

[4wheelandcyril]

I believe the Subaru Outback, other Subaru models and Lexus have a good reputation when it comes to cold weather or for winter driving. For cold-weather friendly specs, Volvos (like the S80) are recommended. Not so definite though if these meet your budget. Good luck man.

[fredjacksonsan]

Except for the convertible part, you have described a Subaru.