A 2nd or winter car

[mlomker]

It wouldn't be terribly affordable for me at the moment, but I'm thinking about getting a second car to drive in the winter. Once the coilovers are on the Evo I'm doubtful that it's going to be all that useful in the winter (ground clearance).

I'd like some opinions on what you'd consider to be a good car for the winter (probably FWD) but that is still unique/cool.

I could either look for something with higher mileage for $8-9k or something pretty nice for $15-17k. It looks like my best bet in the lower price range may be a Mitsu...used Eclipse GS with decent mileage goes for a pretty reasonable price. On the higher end I've thought about looking for a bone stock Evo 8 or a Mini Cooper S.

The downside with a used Evo is that it is tough to find one that hasn't had a tough life. 100% reliable is what I'd be looking for in my winter car...almost removes a used Evo from the running. I think I'm going to go look at a Mini Cooper this week.