I need three pedals, four doors and room for luggage! Which car should I buy?

Reed is from Texas and had an unfortunate incident with his Focus ST. It was pulled incorrectly, resulting in damage to the car. They took the payment and are now looking for a replacement that has manual shifts and is quite practical. With a budget of up to $25,000, which car should she buy?

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Here is the scenario.

I had a 2013 Focus ST that I loved a lot, but when I parked it for the first time it was knocked out of place in reverse, and it was completely damaged. There was no money to rebuild the engine, and took the money from insurance. I have about $25,000 to spend on a 4 door, preferably manual, reliable and ideally with lots of cargo space. I don’t want any kind of project car.

quick Facts:

Budget: up to $25,000

Place: Dallas, Texas

Daily Driver: Yes

Wants: Four doors, easy to live with, ideally a manual

Don’t want: a fixer-upper

The Focus ST was a fun time when automakers were competing to see who could make the most affordable hot hatchback. Unfortunately, with the changing economy, fun and affordability rarely go together, not to mention that the options for manual cars are getting smaller every year. But there are still a few holdouts catering to enthusiasts who don’t want a full-on sports car and need something that’s usable every day.

Hyundai is one of those brands, with the Elantra offering a manual in both the top spec N car, or the tamer N-Line. The latter had a 200-horsepower, 1.6-liter motor that was plenty strong for around town, but also lacked the over-the-top styling of its more expensive sibling, which could attract the wrong kind of attention. While the Elantra is a sedan, the rear seats are spacious, and the trunk offers a solid 14 cubic feet of space. Three-pedal versions are rare, but here’s one 2021 model with about 52,0 miles for under $21,000.

Did you know that, on hatchbacks and wagons, the rear door counts toward your total? With that in mind, Reed, I present the car you really need: the Hyundai Veloster N. Tom came close to the Elantra, but trust me, you’d love to have it.

You had a Focus ST (and you’re a Jalopnik reader) so you clearly enjoy a little performance in your hatchback. The Veloster N is actually a hatch – unlike the Elantra or Civic Si – and it’s raunchier than even the most tuned Focus. Throw it on a winding road, feeling the front tires hitting the corners and the tailpipes bursting and making noise, and tell me you should take the n—Line. Come on, now, you deserve the real thing.

I admit, it’s smaller than your old Focus, but it still has two rows of seating and cargo room in the back. If you really need to carry big luggage you can fold the rear seats, and I assure you you won’t forget the fourth/fifth door. How often do your back seat passengers walk out into traffic, anyway? Get a Veloster N and enjoy even more fun than what FoST brings you.

You know, Reed, I really wanted to find something you might never have thought about buying. A secret car that’s actually super reliable and fun to drive, but flies under the radar compared to the WRX. You can always buy a WRX if you want. But even if that car exists, there’s no point in recommending something that isn’t available in your area. Which meant scrolling through available listings that met your criteria until I found it. Instead, what I got is a fairly straightforward car that seems too good a deal for you to resist.

meet Your New 2022 Honda Civic Si Sedan. Since it’s the newer generation, it should require less maintenance than the 10th generation, and while 58,266 miles on the odometer isn’t particularly low, it’s no more than you’d expect from a five-year-old car. You get your manual. You get your practicality. It should be a lot more fun to drive than the regular Civic. And the best part is, you get Honda’s sweet orange color, all for $100 less than the $25,000 you’d spend. I love the Elantra, but if it were my money, I know I would definitely own the Honda.