[bennelson]

Hi everyone.

My wife has had a 2000 Pontiac Sunfire with a 2.2l gas engine and 3-speed automatic transmission since the day it was new.

It now has 180,000 miles on it and lots of little things wrong with it. In our area, there's lots of salt used on the roads in the winter, which really takes its toll on the undersides of cars. All the brake lines and fuel lines underneigth are rusty, and there's a number of other issues.

Long story short - it's time for a new car. (Which is relative - we do not have the money to buy a $20,000 car, nor would we want to.)

We could spend up to $8000, but less would be better than more.. We'd like to get something with good fuel economy, and will last a while. It needs to seat at least two adults and a baby seat. (No a Chevy S10 will NOT work. Not with a manual transmission anyways...)

It also does need air conditioning. This isn't a luxury. My wife easily suffers from heat sickness and can actually get pretty ill from it. We don't need AC all the time, but it is a requirement for at least a few days out of the year.

Either manual or Automatic is fine, but she has never driven stick before. (Just hasn't owned one, so no reason to.) She would be happy to learn to drive manual transmission, but wouldn't really be able to test drive a stick car properly right now.

Cars near the top of the list would include a used Prius or other hybrids. I also like the idea of the good fuel economy provided by something like a VW TDI Golf or Jetta. (Although they seem to have a price premium or a LOT of miles on the used ones.)

Could you guys weigh in with some suggestions for a good eco-family car?

Thanks in advance.

-Ben