Fun, reliable daily driver for around 5K?

I am considering selling my E30 and getting into something else. like reliable, comfortable, and nice AC. Problem is I am having a bit of a time finding cars to fit my standards. I want manual transmission, decent power, responsive handling, a useable back seat, reliable, and relatively decent gas mileage. things like infinti g35, volvo s60r, corolla xrs.

Or would my time and money be better spent getting a cheap DD and a 'toy car'?

Neon.... 
Manual 
Decent Power 
good handling 
good back seat 
good fuel economy 
I have put boat loads of miles on them cheaply. 

They are also dirt cheap. 

In reply to Professor_Brap :

I have thought about a neon. An ACR with some good tires might be fun.

I seem to have seen one or three Focus SVTs for around that money.

B13 Nissan Sentra SE-R  or the Infiniti G20

Amazing little cars. Reliable as all get out. 

Also, the 2006 to 2011 Honda Civic SI 4 door is in that price range and they rock. Its on my list at the moment. 

In reply to Daeldalus :

I got the perfect one ;)

Budget is $5k and outside of the Civic Si, everything mentioned has been in the $2-3k range.

My recommendations:

Honda Fit

Duratec focus, hunt for a 2.3L if you're not in a hurry.

Mazda 3.

You're just under budget on a V50/S40 Volvo with a T5 and manual, they can be a bit more of a mechanical undertaking at times as well. 

I also haven't checked recently on what sort of GTI $5k will get you these days. If the 2.0T verisons are entering that price range, they're a lot of car for that sort of money. 

I have a 2008 Mazda 3 with a manual hatchback I’m getting ready to list for sale. I’m in Knoxville TN.  I’m just saying...

Any chance you could spend a couple grand more?

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/d/2006-cadillac-cts-fast-7800/6568013355.html

In reply to octavious :

You've got mail

Fun....

Reliable...

Under 5k....

...

Manual trans are available but hard to find.  And they all had the angle drive that breaks the collar.  I am not allergic to automatics so I held out to get a later car with the 6 speed auto, which came with a beefinated angle drive and a way better Haldex rearend.  And whatever magic that Volvo and Ohlins put in the suspension, aw man.  It really is like driving in god mode.

Fuel economy...  I am rushing to get my bridge ported RX-7 back on the road because recent events mean that I will probably save money driving the RX-7.  Part of this is because local gas stations are 60-100 cents more for premium than 87.  I am averaging 18mpg, mostly because my drive to work is short and the car is very fuel-wasting on cold starts.  (Blipping the throttle when in catalyst-warmup mode will make the exhaust pop and bang, which is really cool but indicative of the compromises they made to make a 8.5:1 compression engine with the cat mounted under the rear seat meet modern emissions regs)  On long trips I can expect 23-26mpg average, but still, that requires 92-93 octane.

Bear in mind that my morning commute generally does not involve me caring too much about fuel economy.  And that K26-sized triple-K makes the most amusing noises, so I indulge it on a regular basis....

It is a "fun DD" but you couldn't put it nearly in the same category as a Matrix.  The Matrix is an inexpensive tall econobox, with all of the benefits (good economy, lots headroom, etc) that this entails.  As well as all of the downsides (Playskool interior, poor acceleration, cruddy ride) that entails also.  Teh R is the polar opposite.  I think of it as a European Evo X, it's a little heavy for a all-turbo 300hp AWD car but it's a lot more genteel.  You pay for it at the pump.  And in some of the maintenance costs, apparently front-end bushings only last about 10k miles and if you have to replace the struts you're looking at a thousand bucks even through Rock Auto.  (On the other hand, the Evo X is even more expensive, and it feels like a Mitsubishi to drive)

SVreX said:

In reply to octavious :

You've got mail

Messenger is messed up for me on here, I’ll try to send you one, or try me at 865 227 nine two four three

What about a e46 330i? Since you're already familiar with BMW ownership, this might be a step towards more reliable daily transport. Good ones seem to go for about 5k so within your budget. Also, this might be a longshot and they're a little more than your budget, but early s197 Mustang GTs are about 8k all day long and near 6k with a little hunting. 

Definitely Infiniti G35.  Are you not finding them?