Downtown Minneapolis as seen on a winter night from the Stone Arch BridgeAlex is a med student in the Twin Cities and is finding some limitations between biking and public transit, especially when the weather gets colder. He wants something that won't take too much of a beating, but will also make the commute more bearable. With a budget of up to $10,000, what car should he buy?(Welcome back toWhat Car Should You Buy? Where we give real people real advice about buying cars. Do you want us to help you find a car?Submit your story on our form.)Here is the scenario:I'm a medical student in the Twin Cities who is currently without a car. Public transit isn't ideal, and while I can bike during the warmer months, I want something with doors and heat when it gets cold.I prefer "interesting" but am otherwise open-minded. I like sporty, I like small pickups, I like hatchbacks and wagons, I like SUVs, I dig vans. I hate crossovers and Corollas. Please no crossovers. It needs to be automatic as I will share this car with my girlfriend.My budget is maxed out at $10,000Quick Facts:Budget: up to $10,000Location: Minneapolis/St. PaulDaily Driver: YesWants: Automatic, somewhat interesting, good for city livingDoesn't want: A crossover or a Corolla Expert 1: Tom McParland - Honda Really Needs To Bring This One BackBlue 2009 Honda FitOwning a car in a city can be a hassle, but sometimes a necessary one. You want something easy to park, but also comfortable enough so it doesn't feel like a penalty box. Fortunately, Honda made what might have been one of their best commuter cars ever with the Fit. It is also the most appropriately named Honda ever sold in our market, because this sub-compact could fit into practically any tight spot, but also fit people and things much easier than you expect for its size. These cars were a bit underappreciated when available as new models, but have since developed a following in the used market.With a small footprint, combined with a spacious interior, a well-tuned suspension and respectable mpg, the Fit is an excellent city car. Here is a 2009 Fit Sport for $5,000 and while this is a 17-year-old car, it only has 114,000 miles so there is plenty of life remaining. It seems like a well-cared for example that is being sold with a set of winter rubber, as an extra bonus. Expert 2: Amber DaSilva - Do the dumb thinga black mini cooper s photographed in a used car lot on a rainy dayI'm going to cut right to the chase, Alex: Tom got this one right. The Honda Fit is the car for you. But you said "interesting," so I'm diving full on into the deep end of "interesting" for at least one person's definition of the word: This 2010 Mini Cooper convertible with a litany of questionable mods. The smoked headlights, the tow hook, the red badges and interior accents. This is clearly someone's definition of "interesting." Is it yours?This is an automatic, non-S Mini with a bumper sticker that reads "STREET LEGAL GO KART" near its stickers for The Italian Job and what appears to be Toothless from the "How To Train Your Dragon" series of cinematic tragedies I refuse to watch movies. One quarter panel has a Kuromi sticker, and the other has some sort of goth Hello Kitty. The passenger door might be taped closed. The windows aren't rolled all the way up to the roof, and it's raining in the photos. This is a bad car, but it might be an interesting one.If you want to be smart and practical, get the Fit. But know that, through med school and your eventual career, you likely have an entire lifetime of being smart and practical ahead of you. There are precious few moments in our lives to do something this dumb and ill-advised, yet those always end up being the moments we remember later in life. If you want to make memories, to have some stupid grins on your face to look back on when you're scrubbing into the OR in 20 years, get this horrible little Mini. Expert 3: Erin Marquis - Sporty? Interesting? We need to get you into an R32A blue Volkswagen R32 parked on grassYou work hard as a med student, Alex. Shouldn't you play hard as well? I've got news for you; few Volkswagens play harder than an R32. This baby comes with the surprisingly buzzy and burley 3.2-liter naturally aspirated VR6, but with the less desirable DSG automatic transmission. Enthusiasts raised a stink about that, which means the automatic second generation of the car actually affordable to regular Joes like you and me. This car delivers 250 horsepower in a tiny package, it's impossible not to have fun. Should you want to get a better feel for the gears, the R32 does come with paddle shifters, but your manual-adverse girlfriend never need to touch them. It's definitely easy to park. Will it cause you mechanical headaches? Probably. But what's a VW instrument cluster without a few pretty lights? I couldn't find one around you and frankly, I think that's fortunate, because this baby is almost exactly in your price range, but its live in Florida. That's right. A road-salt free Volkswagen. The mileage is a little high at 127,000, but it doesn't sound like you're going to be adding on that many with your urban comings and goings. Now you could have this car shipped to you, but it's the end of the school year, so why not treat yourself to a one-way flight to Orlando, Florida, buy this car, enjoy and enjoy a little sunshine before taking a long, winding, stress-releasing drive home. Maybe hit the tail of the dragon before heading west, I think you deserve it. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox, and add us as a preferred search source on Google.