RFC on cars :-)

Hey all… I need your help…

I am about to buy a car and in the next week or so I am planning to start the test drives. I like stylish, smallish, fun cars. Unfortunately the one that I really like (BMW Series One) is not available in the US and most cars around here seem to be biiiiiig 🙂

After looking around to see what’s available (and what I can afford), I created this short list:

• 
  Volkswagen Beetle
  : Really stylish and fun but perhaps a little bit too small. I want to be able to go on a road trip and to the mountains for skiing (Einar… I am waiting for your visit :-).
• 
  Golf GTI
  . In Europe everyone seems to have one but it doesn’t seem to be very popular around here.
• 
  Mazda3 (5 door)
  : This seems like a stylish car even though it’s not European.
• 
  Audi A3
  : It’s beautiful but much more expensive than all the others. It’s one of the favourites though. I’d loved it if there was a 3-door version.
• 
  Toyota Prius
  : I personally think this is an ugly car but I am still considering it because it’s environment-friendly (it’s a hybrid).

As you can probably tell, I like hatchbacks.

So, do you have an opinion on any of the above? Comments, experience? I’ve never had to buy a car so this is a first for me.

(BTW: for those of you who don’t know what RFC stands for… Request for Comments)