fun, cheap, reliable daily thats good on gas

dont flame me for posting something thats already been asked, ive been looking and cant find thr answer i want. i want something relatively cheap (around 4k), reliable, and fun to drive, preferably manual. it also has to be good in the snow, since i live in missouri where it snows and ices a lot. so sadly, miata is not the answer. something fun too, ive looked into civics, se-r's, svt focus', mazda 3's etc etc, but i cant find anything thats not clapped, or insanely overpriced. any ideas anyone?

Saturn Ion Redline. I just have a soft spot for these. Fun to drive. Reliable (my experience). Only came in manual. Couple hundred bucks gets you a tune/pulley swap. 

In reply to colehelm :

Welcome to GRM.  You will not be flamed here!  And, I'm not just saying this as a moderator that I will smack down flaming but more that it is long standing that the climate here is non-flaming.  We'd much rather seize the opportunity to dispense what we know, even the most trivial knowledge.  With that trivial knowledge in mind ..

As for the above mentioned Saturn Ion Redline...The Ion has offset gauges, but if the car has a factory added boost gauge directly in front of the steering wheel, that was part of the optional Competition Package which also includes limited slip differential.  So, the boost gauge serves as the visual cue that the car is limited slip equipped!

Facebook Marketplace has a quirk where not all functions work from all devices.  I can not get it to do this from my phone, but it will do this from my laptop.

Facebook marketplace -> vehicles -> manual transmission only

On my laptop I can sort listings to only show vehicles in my area with manual transmission.  Since you are looking for something that is now considered rare you might find that you have to choose from what's available.  Sort FB this way and see what pops up.  

...good on gas

The site 

https://www.fueleconomy.gov/ 

will give you the epa rating for every car sold in North America since 1985 and it is an easy place to compare those ratings down to real annual expense/savings.

Honda Fit? Tons of fun and tons of competition opportunities too. 

$4k to accomplish your goal is going to be a bit tight.  Are you able to travel to pick up a car from down south that doesn't see the same rust issues that you're seeing in your area?  If so, would recommend.  

Toyota Yaris hatchback 5-speed. I drove mine through 4 NY winters with snow tires and that thing never scared me at all in the snow. Then I put Continentals on it in the summer, and a TRD sway bar, and it was a hoot to drive. It also got 38mpg and even in the 3-door configuration, you could cram a shocking amount of stuff in it. Also, the Yaris doesn't carry the same price tag as Fits tend to.

I live in Michigan where it snows and ices a lot. I wouldn't rule out a Miata. My NBs were fun in the snow when equipped with proper winter tires. Otherwise, I can have fun with damn near any manual front wheel drive hatch. Fits, Kia Rios, Hyundai Accents etc can all be had for your budget, and can all be upgraded with wheels ,tires, shocks and sway bars with a few bucks and your time. Have fun and welcome to the GRM family !

Tom Suddard said:

Honda Fit? Tons of fun and tons of competition opportunities too. 

or the better option, The Rio/Accent. 

I had a two-door G5 (Cobalt) for a few years up in SE Michigan. Proper tires matter far more than anything else, and that car handled each winter just fine. The lowered suspension didn't care for Michigan roads, but that was a year-round issue, haha. 

I'm just here to see if everyone is responding to a bot.

if you can still find Mazda 2's, they're just about unkillable aside from rust and you can even find them in a 5 speed manual.  then throw a couple SpecB parts at it and have one of the ultimate momentum mini hatches made in the last 10 years.

here's one in Charlotte
https://www.facebook.com/share/aogSZnxE6uK6dNpH/

colehelm said:

it also has to be good in the snow, since i live in missouri where it snows and ices a lot. so sadly, miata is not the answer.

While there are many reasons a Miata might not be the answer, snow/ice tires means that snow/ice is not one of them. On the appropriate tires, a well balanced car drives well regardless of dry, wet, snow, or ice. With slightly taller than stock (195/65R14 vs 185/60R14) Blizzacks, this was my 'winter beater' up by Green Bay, WI. It was honestly just as, if not more, fun in the winter as it was the summer.

My Honda Fit on Conti DWS did fine when we'd get snow storms in the hills of Western WA, but had two major shortcomings for me. One was that if you turned off the traction control long enough in slippery conditions, it would eventually get mad, turn it back on, and stop letting you turn it off. The other was a mixed bag when the traction control overruled me as I was trying to keep the power on to maintain some momentum getting into a rather slippery hill climb, causing all manner of obscenities from me as my for stomped with futile indignation on the gas pedal, but admittedly once (forcibly) slowed to a crawl did manage to make the most of the tires' traction and chug it's way right on up. The people behind me that were forced to lose their momentum too, and had to turn around and go back down before grinding to a halt less than half way up, were (understandably) none too pleased with me.

Another fun B-segment car to consider is the Mazda2.

Wishing you the best with your search... AutoTrader shows almost 93,000 cars currently listed for sale in metro Atlanta, where I live.  Filtering for your budget cuts that to 324, then only 18 of those have a manual transmission--yikes!

ScottyB said:

if you can still find Mazda 2's, they're just about unkillable aside from rust and you can even find them in a 5 speed manual.  then throw a couple SpecB parts at it and have one of the ultimate momentum mini hatches made in the last 10 years.

 

here's one in Charlotte
https://www.facebook.com/share/aogSZnxE6uK6dNpH/

 

The CX-3 is built on the same platform as the Mazda 2 and I see many times more of them on the road so they offer a better selection.

The U.S. version of the CX-3 was never offered with a manual (closest place for that is Canada) but a pretty large percent of them have AWD.

I totally get the preference for a manual, especially in this category of car, but the OP said "preferably manual" and the CX-3, for whatever reason,

just isn't on people's radar so sellers will be motivated once they find a prospective buyer.

FWIW, I've had one as my daily for 5.5 years / 127,000 miles and for a disposable little $hitbox, it really punches above its weight....tossable, excellent

fit and finish, loaded with features, sips gas, and extreeeme reliability ($47 blower fan that took 27 minutes to R&R is all its ever needed).

But again, no manual in the U.S.. 

Scion XB! Admittedly not very good in the snow.

TravisTheHuman said:

I'm just here to see if everyone is responding to a bot.

Looking more and more promising.

Tom Suddard said:

Honda Fit? Tons of fun and tons of competition opportunities too. 

Came here to say this.

I've been led to believe it can be surprisingly capable in the snow with a good set of winter tires.

Depending on how much wiggle you have in your budget, I'm seeing examples from every generation available within your $4000 price range.

I've owned a second-gen and currently own a third-gen, so I have a little insight.

I would also recommend the Honda Fit. The last one I drove was a ton of fun to pitch around. I have no idea how it would perform in the snow, but given that it's a torqueless FWD Honda, I would think it would do very well. 

Other options: 

Not sure if you can find a clean, unmolested one for $4000 anymore, but that's about what I paid for my old EK Civic hatch 5MT some years back. With a set of sway bars, CTR/Si LCA's, some bigger brakes (EX fronts & Integra rears from a junkyard) and a suspension refresh, that thing was a hoot to pitch around! It was as slow as molasses in January, but it had pretty good sensation of speed and was fun to try and keep speed up in. With a set of Blizzak tires, that thing was pretty much unstoppable in the snow! At the time, I also owned a TJ Jeep Wrangler- if the snow wasn't well over the bumper, I preferred the EK hatch in the snow. 

Last I checked, 1st or 2nd gen Mazda 3's were pretty inexpensive and probably just about as reliable as most cars from that era? Our oldest daughter has one with a 2.5L and a manual and it's a fun little car.