think of your approach this way. What do you need from the car? All drive platforms of cars (FWD,RWD, AWD ) can handle snow if properly equipped so you dont need to feel the "need" to have AWD (subbie, audi) as AWD is additional weight to the car in chasis form and drivetrain weight which in turn means, A) youre paying to repair additional parts ( the awd driveline) B) it takes more fuel to power a drivetrain with more weight, think of how much energy it takes to twist a twig with one hand then try to use the same amount of energy with one hand to turn a heavier branch.... it takes more energy, make sense? You want something to last and not be costly in repairs.... stats wise, japanese cars dominate all other makes of cars in reliability so keep that in mind. You want a common car so when the time comes to replace a part on your car ( shit happens, you will spend money on a car no matter what... but the goal is to reduce the amount you have to spend).... youre going to A) be able to find a aftermarket company that reproduces OEM parts at a fraction of the cost. B) a car that can be easily located at local wrecking yards for cheap cheap cheap parts. You dont care about the car tuner scene so why bother getting an oddball car? Get a car that you can bring to any fuckhead operation in hicktown USA and they will have previous experience working on that car. You want good fuel economy... get a car that is under 2.0 liters of displacement and you should be golden. Get the car inspected before spending a cent on the car, it will cost you a 100 bucks but possibly could save you thousands and will allow you to barter a price based on the state of the car.
get a civic or corolla, honestly.