my car is made of cheap plastics.

chiming in a little late (and not reading the entire thread)

but I'd say SVT or scion

The focus is worse, than even our GC's

I don't understand why anybody would expect better in a $16,000 car.

So post some alternatives! The SVT Focus interior is *by far* the nicest I've seen in car in this price range. And I'm pretty sure that the Ricaro sport seats were pretty comfortable, at least that's what my butt and back told me.

Looks, well, that's personal. I happen to think the SVT Focus looks good. It looks like the RS and the rally car... at least to the same extent the Impreza looks like the rally car.

As far as handling... well, *all* the cars he's looking at are FWD. There are no $16k RWD or AWD cars. And this should be one of the best... LSD, traction control. And power... it's got the most power and the lighest weight of all the cars! How much power does your car make? Something tells me it's not 170hp. :P

So I'm "up on this car" because I think it's sporty, good looking, nice, and the most bang for your buck in this price class.

The Si has probably the best interior in this cadigory, it may not be a great honda, nor that great looking, but it has the cargo room, the great interior, and enough power to rank it up with these other cars. But the Mazda 3 might have it trumped in the interior department surprizingly. In fact, i'd rank the Mazda 3 above the Focus in every cadigory other than power. I have been very impressed with it, it feels and looks more like a $20k plus car.
The Mini I would probably rank above the Focus as well interior wise, and handling wise definatly on part with the SVT. And even that base model engine is rather peppy with the Mini.

Another option that might be interesting, there were adds in the paper this weekend for brand new 04 RS's and TS's for $16,999... I was surprized to see that.

But personally, for that price range, i'd go with a used car.