I was in love with the 87 Dodge Omni GLHS when it came out. I have been restoring/modding compact cars since. Saturn is a great choice that should fit all your wishes. I have heard good and bad about the Focus, but if you want "peppy" without having to fork out the $$ for a GT somethingorother, get a used Saturn SL or SW.
Thanks for your very helpful information. The cars that have been suggested to me most often are the VW Golf, Ford Focus, Ford Escort, Honda Civic, Dodge Neon, Toyota Echo, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Subaru Outback and Mazda Protege 5, including wagons. So I'll start looking harder at these and move on to other models until have a short list of vehicles that would be good for my needs.
Thanks again. I appreciate it. - RDG
Also being a Mopar guy (but I own a Saturn), I'd go with any one of the Dodge R/T line models. The PT has the Turbo option and I think there's also a Turbo Neon good for around 200 hp. If those are out of budget as they were for me right now, go with a late-model Saturn SC model. They're sporty, somewhat speedy, and they wax up nice.
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