Brian, for the longterm I would suggest a 99-00 civic (99-00 civic is the last version of that chassis design) or any 98-01 Integra. I would go with the Integra over the civic. It seems to be more of a "luxury" version and your lady friend may agree. Both go for anywhere in the 4-6k range bone stock. The Integra comes with a 1.8l and the civic a 1.6. The Integra has much more pep to it. If you are shooting for gas mileage get an 96-98 HX Civic( Same Chassis as 99-00 different lights/bumper), it has a form of vtec (vtec-e) that improves fuel economy versus performance.