What car thread. Another one of the many.

I know I don't get involved in these threads very often.  But I just received news on my 2007 MINI Cooper S today.  It isn't, wasn't what I wanted to hear.  I took the car in because the drivers headlight was behaving in a way I didn't like.  In fact, it would go out after 5 to 10 minutes of driving.  I already checked all the connectors and cleaned them with connector cleaner but it didn't fix the problem.  Stealership takes the car in and does a diagnostic on it.  Says it is the Control Module, AGAIN, big dollars to replace and dollars I don't see getting out of the car if I do the repair.  I replaced this 3 years ago.  I said, clean the corroded connector and put it outside, I'll cone and get it.  

So this brings me to my question of What car to replace it with.  The Mini is my daily, it's fun to drive, not to work on.  What I look for in a Daily Driver is:  Something that is sporty (not a sports car, I have a couple of those), good handling in all weather (we get snow and freezing rain here in this part of Canada), small/compact.  What I have driven and liked in the past:

1.  VW GTI

2. Audi's 

3. Chevy Cruise was actually enjoyable

4. Dodge Dart (newer one) not sure about their used resale value.  

I am not looking for anything over 20k all in.  

And ................................................. Go.

If you enjoyed the Chevy Cruze the good news is that they are cheap, pretty tough and reliable (the few trouble areas are special coveraged to Judgment Day) and can be had real cheap. I think the manual transmission shifter in them is pretty good for what they are. TriFecta sells a tune and ZZPerformance have some performance parts, so you can spice it up a little.

Toyota Corolla Hatchback 6MT

Honda Fit MT

Mazda2 too small?

Mazda3 with the 2.5 and a manual. 

Yaris/Fit/Corolla hatches for the Japanese preference.

Fiesta/Focus for the Domestics.

Idk about euro hatches. I only know of the VW/Audi/Mini offerings and they never seem reliable/easy to fix.

I'd look at a Focus ST.  They seem to be universally loved by all even more than the RS. 

Mazda3 or Hyundai Elantra or Veloster with the turbo

Besides being fun to drive, they will be more reliable than your previously mentioned cars

Thank you for the input.  It is great to hear from the Hive.  

What I have seen so far.  

2015 VW GTI for 18,000 :  https://www.autotrader.ca/a/volkswagen/gti/ottawa/ontario/5_46259176_on20071122101744952/?showcpo=ShowCpo&ncse=no&ursrc=hl&orup=5_15_100&pc=K2M%202S3&sprx=100

2016 Hyundai Elantra GT GLS for 15000 :  https://www.autotrader.ca/a/hyundai/elantra%20gt/kemptville/ontario/5_44185433_20161118202938777/?showcpo=ShowCpo&ncse=no&orup=8_15_95&pc=K2M%202S3&sprx=100

and for odd ball Nissan Sentra NISMO 2017 19880 :  https://www.autotrader.ca/a/nissan/sentra/gatineau/quebec/5_45390975_20150219102053584/?showcpo=ShowCpo&ncse=no&orup=1_15_40&pc=K2M%202S3&sprx=100

All prices are Canadian BTW.  LOL 

Sonic said:

Mazda3 with the 2.5 and a manual. 

I still love mine. Easy to work on and parts are cheap. Still fun to toss around, too. 180k+ on it and still kicking!