Now I know someone will complain that I did this, but I used Edmund's 5 Year True Cost to Own (because, well I'm lazy) and looked at a lot of the 2023 manual transmission cars available in the USA (because it has to have a manual IMO). I was surprised what Edmund's had to say:
- Nissan Versa $34,917 ($9,583 fuel)
- Volkswagen Jetta $36,097 ($8,453 fuel)
- Honda Civic $38,710 ($10,973 fuel)
- Subaru Impreza $39,078 ($11,058 fuel)
- MINI Hardtop Cooper Classic $40,438 ($24,923 fuel)
- Kia Forte GT $41,816 ($11,058 fuel)
- Mazda 3 Hatchback $42,895 ($9,583 fuel)
- Volkswagen Golf GTI $46,628 ($10,655 fuel)
- Toyota Corolla GR N/A (N/A fuel)
- Acura Integra $50,528 ($11,335 fuel)
- Subaru WRX $51,564 ($15,461 fuel)
- Hyundai Elantra $51,804 ($13,603)
If Edmunds is correct, or at least my circumstances were near what Edmunds says, the Volkswagen Jetta would seem like the logical answer, because, well, it's a Volkswagen, and because it gets the best fuel mileage out of any manual transmission car in the USA.