I want a car.

I havent had a car in several years. Sold my last one when I moved back to San Francisco, as there was no need (or desire) to keep it.

Well, Ive moved to the East Bay and I find myself greatly dissatisfied with public transportation. M-F I spend about $10 a day on 3 modes of public transport round trip. The journey takes about an hour and I have to stand for most of it, which aggravates a health issue. Weekends are much worse, it can take up to 1.5 hours to get to the city. Driving it would take about 20 mins.

I cant actually make the to buy or not to buy decision until mid-Sept. Lease is up here Oct 1 and maybe Ill end up back in SF? Also, I must pay off all cc debt, and also save a decent down payment.

Id like to buy something with under 36k miles, that is sporty and fun to drive, and can take me up to the mountain in winter. And Id like to spend $18-$25k, with maybe $10k of that a down payment.

This leaves a pretty short list for my taste.
- Audi A4 quattro: I did a test drive in 04 before buying my last car and was thoroughly unimpressed. Maybe I drove a wimpy model and need a bigger engine?
- BMW X3: Also drove a model of this in 03/04. I similarly thought it didnt have enough power, but dont recollect what model I drove.
- Mercedes ML350: The styling seems a bit soccer mom, but Ive not driven it. They seem like an awesome bargain though. Great reviews and cheap, likely because of the gas mileage (and soccer mom styling!)

I thought about Subarus, the WRX specifically, but Im pretty meh on them. Id love an X5, S4 or Cayenne, but they are all too expensive...would be closer to 50k miles on it to bring it to my price range.