Another which car thread...

So I found out from where I'm interning/working that they may offer me a position to keep me at the plant and not risk losing me.... if this does happen and I do take the offer here is what I would be faced with:

School 2 days a week, work 2/3 days a week.... the issue is that the two are about 150 miles apart... the company said if it happens I would get a salary and they would pay for the rest of my schooling.... but did not mention paying for travel/mileage.

So I'm faced with this choice (I am NOT going to buy new):

1.) Lightly used hybrid that will get my 45+ mpgs to help with the cost of travel if it is on me, or if they give me $XXX per mile it means more to my pocket

or

2.) Lightly used AWD sedan to help deal with the miles in a Wisconsin winter that has some zip to it since MPG isn't a huge concern


Also I DO NOT want a truck or SUV, a want a car no matter what and would like to stay around
15k and 50,000~ miles

Option 1 choices seem to be:
Prius
Civic Hybrid
Altima hybrid or Camry hybrid (neither is that great for MPG)

Option 2 choices are:
WRX (not and STI)
Mitsu Lancer GTS (new style - but I hear bad things about DSM)
Infiniti G35x
Audi a4/a6/S4 (I am scared if they are reliable as I would like)
300c AWD
Charger AWD
Jaguard X-type


Its a lot to choose from, I'm not picky.... but just want the most bang for my buck to fit within either of those two categories
Suggestions welcome but remember:
AWD sedan - looks good and has some zip
15k~
50k miles give or take
RELIABLE! no headaches until I hit at least 100k on it.
or AWESOME gas milage


Thanks everybody!

Cant go wrong with Audis, just take care of the timing belt and water pump and you are good to go. Chargers you might get 20-24mpg, Jaguar maybe the same but didnt know they are AWD? The WRX would be the best but zero chance of probably getting them in your price range.

I was thinking th 04-07 body style.... not the new ones for WRX

My concern is you would have to go older on some of those cars to get to $15k and you may have a hard time finding one with around 50000. I just bought a '07 G35 with 60k on it any thing over 04-05 with that kind of mileage is going to cost you $17-20k IMO. Personally, if you are putting that kind of mileage on a car I would just go buy a Civic LX slightly used for about the $15k or less and drive it into the ground. Personally I just don't see the reason to pay for a hybrid when a cheap Civic can get 30+ mpg. I'd get a newer more reliable car that is not as fancy so that you have the reliability. I know there is a lot of snow in Wisconsin, but I'd think a FWD Civic would do pretty good.

I had a FWD civic as my last car, made it to 200k and I sold it for only $500 less than I paid, 4 years and 90k later.... loved it, except in the snow it was AWFUL. My first car was a cadillac Eldorado and that was a great FWD snow car -- if it started to slide, it slide straight.... the civic - the instant it broke free it was sideways.

I'm fine with getting a bit older and those miles - I would plan on meeting the seller, hopefully they're just really old - then I would buy, if not, I would most likely pass.

Miles/Age in a foreign car don't really make me uneasy - the domestic ones (not to start a war - just that I've had two Hondas break 200k with no prolems and my Cadillic died at 125k and there were ****loads of other problems)

i recommend a civic with all terrain tires for gas mileage car and crv all wheel drive with all terrain tires for awd car honda is tops in reliability and gas mileage

I was able to get a great deal on my '07 and even though it had 60k on it I found one that looks and drives like new. On the G35s, make sure you get on with new tires on it. From my research, they like to eat tires very quickly and they are pretty expensive to get something decent to replace them with. What about an Acura RL with SH-AWD? Have you looked at these. I have absolutely no idea what they go for use, but I would assume most of them were driven by a little older crowd compared to the Infiniti. I wish the previous generation TL had AWD, as I actually would have gone Acura over Infiniti. Love the Infiniti, but not as much as the Acuras I have had. Another option may be an '03 or previous TL. I bought an '03 Type 6 with 100k on it for $8000 about 2 years ago as a commuter. I'm sure you could find one with around the mileage you are looking for in the $13-14k range. It was actually good in the snow. The CL in that age range is a lot like it but a little sportier looking as it looks like by the cars you are looking at you would prefer sporty. Personally, I would stay away from everything but the Infiniti on the Option 2 list. A lot of those cars used are going to be a lot of trouble more often than not. I know a million people will jump on here saying something different, but research the problems with different cars and see what you come up with.

I'm with you on wishing for a AWD TL.... I just looked at RLs - not bad.... I would guess if I shop a bit I could find something like 17k with the miles I'm looking for.... but I would be fine with that seeing as its pretty much a Honda