my mate drives a new volvo s40. top car his was about 15000 but you should geta good used one for around 8 now. Go for the TD option then you will have comfort, top mpg and they handle well to.
when i used to work in the city, i rode my R1's in every day through rain/snow/sun, only had a car to go shopping and take the pooch to the park!
go for a big old merc like this one.. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1996-MERCEDES...15QQihZ014QQcategoryZ9855QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem id love to roll around in something like this. fishnets all the way by the way. shes mine.
bog standard skyline gtst. 4-5k for a nice example. Get one with LSD and you can have hours of giggling fun going round in circles and sideways everywhere. Or could possibly try anything with a v-tech in it. Good engines.
Kia Pride? There's a sensible option. Although a Skybus GTST would be my choice. Off boost they can be quite economical.