I drive a Toyota Matrix, my husband drives a Ford Focus, and my sister drives a Mazda 3. I absolutely *love* my car and firmly believe that my car wins out of our three cars. My husband prefers my sister's car, and she does as well. Mine, however, came with so many more features standard, and is much easier to drive. My family members who actually enjoy driving seem to prefer the Mazda, but those of us who hate to drive and want the experience as simple and easy as possible prefer my Toyota. (No one really likes the Focus ...)

Another vote for my civic! I love driving it and I've been in a few accidents and it's still alive :D

I drove a Focus one time while the civic was in the shop when I was rear ended and liked the Focus but not quite as much as my Civic!

Another Civic driver! Mine is going on five years old and I haven't had a single problem with it. I drove all the smaller sedans when I was shopping for my car, and again when my fiance was shopping last year. I still loved the Civic the most (although he ended up getting a Corolla).

I won't touch American cars, not since the day the transmission fell out of my dad's nearly-brand-new Oldsmobile when I was a kid. (I won't touch a Mercedes for the same reason. It seems Dad doesn't have good luck with transmissions.)

My first car was an Acura Vigor that I drove until it all but fell apart. I replaced it with a TL that I love. My dad drove a Honda Accord for a while - he put 120K miles on that car, mostly from a rough commute to NYC. I've driven that car and I loved it. (It has long since gone to car heaven, but it took a hell of a beating first.) So I second (third? fourth?) all the recommendations for the Civic.

Someone you know loves a Honda!

My husband and I have a 2006 Honda Civic that is such a champ. It is a very reliable, very efficient, and cute car. It's not super fast, it's not super flashy, but it is a good, solid, dependable vehicle that has never let us down. My dad who is a master mechanic, said that while he hates that it is a "Japanese" car (despite that it was 70% american content, and assembled in Springfield!), he loves driving it and loves the maintenance on it because it is so easy.

And I just bought a 2010 Honda Fit on Monday of last week...and I'm in love. Like, unreasonably so. They're also having great financing on the Fit until the end of the month (0.9% if you qualify). So I got the Fit Sport with the 0.9 for $16k. I don't drive a whole lot, and when I do, it is usually with my bike in the back, and the seats in that sucker are amazing! It's like a minivan shrunken down to fun size.

Meet "Norm".
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42...0131011718.jpg

I also call my 1996 Honda civic sedan Turtle!!!! Mine is green with orange wheels :)

To OP: I've owned nothing buy Honda (10 of them including motorcycle/scooters). Go with Civic EX or Si (if you like some power)

not sure where you are. If you consider Matrix, then consider the AWD if your location warrants it.

If you can get a Pontiac Vibe then you basically have a Matrix because Vibe has Toyota engine in it.

I drive a 2006 Nissan Altima that I love, love, love. The only negative thing I have to say about it is that the front is very round and longer than it looks so it can take some time to get a feel for where the car ends. Other than that I have had no issues, and really enjoy driving it.

I don't know if this comes in under $20K, but VW Golfs are awesome in snow with their front wheel drive action. Otherwise, I co-sign on the Honda Civic - those cars run forever and are very reliable. However, my VW was going for about 14 years before I replaced it.

VW's are great. My friend has a new jetta, they start at like 16 I think. I love my bug, and was told it will last 300,000 miles

I like the look of the Honda Fit… is it spacious? How is the trunk room?

I had also been recommended VWs previously.. the Jetta was suggested to me by someone, but I know nothing about their longevity or the frequency of needed repairs.

I drove a Jetta when I was in Mexico, and my biggest complaint was the shift-shock. I can't even tell when my Tracker shifts gears, except the odometer drops.

It seemed to get good gas mileage...but I couldn't tell for sure since it's full-service stations down there, and measured in litres.

Let me put it in perspective... I'm about 5'10. I can sit in the back seat without my knees touching the front. I also have a bike with a 58cm top tube and huge wheels and I can fit the sucker in the trunk with the seat down without removing the front wheel. When the snow finally calms down, I can scoot out and take a photo of the rear if you'd like?

I have a 2007 Nissan Sentra and LOVE it. It's our main commuter car and has done road trips up to about 500 miles so far. Its hood is shorter than the Altima so you don't have that issue.

My favorite parts:

- Keyless Entry. Just have the key in your purse and push a button to unlock the door. Push it twice to unlock all of them. Push it once when you get out to lock. Push it under the trunk to open the trunk. Push in the ignition and turn it on. Seriously- it's amazing. I'm sure guys appreciate it too (my husband does), but it's huge for women with black hole purses! I never see my key anymore because I don't need to.

- Divide & Hide Trunk. The trunk is massive & deep, especially considering the size of the car. To avoid groceries sliding all over the place, there's a hard shell divider. I usually keep long term things in the "hidden" spot- road maintenance kit, extra towels for the dogs, reusable shopping bags, etc. Then when I open the trunk it looks incredibly clean, & I can fit groceries or shopping bags easily.There are little circle hooks on the divider to hang plastic bags from, but I use the big fabric rectangular ones so I barely use the hooks.

Otherwise- it drives well, and is fairly quiet. We also have a 2005 Ford Focus, which replaced a 1998 Ford Escort. I'm unlikely to buy a Ford again. After a few years, the road noise is very strong and the feel rattly to me. It handles nicely too. One of my tests is to go to a cul-de-sac and crank the wheel & spin around a couple of times. If the turning radius is too wide, we aren't getting that car. Good visibility, comfortable for backseat passengers (another of my tests).

We're likely going to get an SUV of sorts this year (to replace the Focus in hauling capacity and increase it, plus get something heartier for heavy weather & terrain). Ford will not be on my list to investigate, but I'd happily buy another Nissan. One of my friends bought a Nissan Versa (hatchback) after seeing ours and loved it, then traded up for a Nissan Rouge (crossover SUV).

Aren't keyless entries sort of unsafe? Since a thief/car-jacker, etc, would only need for you to approach before they could get into your car? In my self defense class, we were told never to remotely unlock our car before we got to it for that reason. It seems like it would make it much easier to steal your car if the key doesn't need to be in the ignition. Esp since you can't really "lock" your car if you're anywhere near it (esp if the key is in the car...)