Theory crafting sporty daily drivers

Well, sitting talking to my wife about having a second child, I thought maybe I should get a newer car. I know my GTI in and out and its in very good condition, but 80k Miles on a 300WHP car does take its toll on reliability. So browsing Autotrader, there isn't much in the way of newer, sporty, SAFE, AWD cars. Like none. Basically I see Subaru WRX, Golf R (way out of budget) and FoRs(not interested). The wife really wants me to get AWD. I know I can get by without it as I have for the past 15 or so years(New England) but she is adamant about it.

What else is there??? Say lower $20's for price, under 40k, stick/manual doesn't matter MUCH prefer wagon/hatch. 

If sticking to FWD - newer GTI? CTR?

Tesla 3? Will be a tight fit in the budget though.

Keep what you have.  My Cobalt SS turbo with the stage one tune had 250,000 miles when I sold it.  Used no oil, ran great.

This is a good job for the Power Search function over at fueleconomy. gov

Put in an age range, mandate sedan or wagon and mandate awd.  Maybe mandate manual trans. 

If a car was sold in North America that meets those criteria, it will show up. 

Does it also have to fit a forward-facing baby seat in the back?

One oddball that comes to mind - for a while, you could get the Chrysler 200 with all wheel drive and the Pentastar V6. Automatic only, unfortunately, but they should have depreciated into your price range. And both the Ford Fusion and the Buick Regal were offered in turbo four cylinder AWD models; no idea how easy such a thing is to find, but they exist.

Hatch but not a wagon...Kia Stinger can be awd.  Hyundai Genisis?  

Volvo S60.  Get the R version if you want a little more sport.

Fusion sport. 2.7L EB, AWD. 

Be the 7th person to buy one. 

Golf Sportwagen 4Motion with a tune? IDK Golf Alltrack also can be had with 6MT. Not terribly fast, but I hear they respond well to tunes. 

Every time I look at VW I ask myself "why the hell can't they just make a wagon with the GTI (or R) drivetrain??"

I'd recommend you look at the 10th gen civic si. well put together, standard heated seats for those new england winters and they drive very well around town and return MPG's in the high 30's in normal highway driving and I've seen friends cars crest the 40mpg mark. 

that's my 2 cents juist because the CTR are so expensive and while they are friggin awesome. it's a hard thing to justify a 50% premium if you don't love it. 

Just throwing some options out there:

AWD + Manual + Hatch: 3rd-gen Forester XT, Mini Countryman/Clubman S/JCW

AWD + Hatch: X1 with the N55, V60 R-Design, E91 328xi, 435i xDrive GranCoupe, Audi A7, Panamera 4/4S

If you're willing to stretch to 30k, that opens up the Grand Cherokee SRT, the Audi S7 and Kia Stingers in various guises

A genesis with a few years and a couple miles on it should be in your price range. Stinger’s probably too new, but who knows where it’ll be at when you’re actually buying. 

I think the Golf Alltrak or Golf 4motion wagon is a good avenue to explore.