Given your price range I'd suggest a used Volkswagen Golf. They're fantastic cars. Easy to fix. Hard to break. Drive well. Get good gas mileage. And they're hatchbacks. Try to get an all-wheel or 4-wheel drive if you can; it makes for better handling than just front-wheel drive. Manual cars are cheaper than automatic, but that's a matter of personal preference. I myself have got a 2007 Toyota RAV4 (which is a hatchback) and it is a phenomenal car. It's never broken down on me after 110,000 miles. Still runs like a charm. It's one of the best handling cars I've ever driven (and I've driven a LOT of cars). I've got room for 5 people in seats plus room in the back/trunk for 3 adults to sit comfortably. I especially love mine because I got the "Limited" version which comes with a specially-tuned JBL amp and 9-point JBL speakers: 4 tweeters, 4 mids and a 10" subwoofer. I busted the subwoofer listening to Bassnectar a few years ago and replaced it with a 14" JL subwoofer in an enclosure (don't remember which model) and a 1000 watt Kenwood sub amp to power that beast. I absolutely love hatchbacks for some reason. Don't get me wrong: I love all cars. There's just something special to me about hatchbacks.