well if the evo rules you out why not the wrx? not as flashy looking, awd, turbo, and fun on corners and strights. you can find them for 15-20 with 20-30k miles.
as you can see though everyone will have there own opinions with cars. its just like our tanks. some people do things there way which you may feel is 100% wrong and will never work, but works great for them. for cars its pretty much your choice. just test drive. see what you like. for all we know you may pick like a porshe boxer because you ended up liking it and others might say its a pos. whatever you like man, dont go by what people tell you to buy. opinions are fine, buts its going to be your call. just spend a weekend driving around to dealerships to dealership and drive them. even drive a few cars out of your price range. if you like them then go home and go on autotrader.com or something and see if you can find a cheaper one. whatever you pick make sure it was your choice and do not settle with something someone told you to buy. this thread can go on forever and ever about peoples opinions. but like people say opinions are like A**holes. some of them stink. good luck and just let us know what you pick.
and tony (unknownwaters) that had nothing to do with the evo problem. thats my fault. i blew my clutch out and burnt it up. putting 7g into a car and not upgrading the clutch has nothing to do with the strength of the car. it has to do with me not thinking realistically and upgrading something i should have a long time ago. its my fault. any evo onwer on here or anywhere else will tell you the same thing. in that price range nothing else can compare. the car can have up to 800hp and the motor not touched. the cars are amazing. simple as that. its all how the owner treats it. i ovbiously failed. lesson learned and now i know.