General Car Question.

[ABV]

If it were me I would buy either a Jetta or a Golf with the Tdi. They're not fast, but they are peppy, both would have decent room for four, plus with the Golf, you could have a little extra space with the hatch. They look pretty decent, and the Tdi gets insane mpg. My roomate usually got around 42-45 driving in the CITY! Granted his was a 5 speed, but still an auto would get well above 30mpg. Plus Volkswagens have alot of standard features, that are only options on other cars. That makes it much easier to get a used car with more of the features you want.

One word of advice with the Tdi though. Make sure you try to find a model with heated seats. I think they're standard on the GLX. It's just in the nature of a diesel to take a while to really warm up to the point where the heater kicks in. Those heated seats will save your ass (literally) on a cold winter morning.