Hello,just registered here.
Decide for what you will use the car - Daily Driving or Performance? FWD,RWD,AWD ? Diesel,Gasoline ?
Here is my opinion,I wont recommend a specific car,just give you guidelines:
-If you plan to race,tune the car,or you just like driving fast the only answer is rear wheel drive(RWD).Simple physics - when you accelerate,the weight of the car shifts backwards=rear(driven)tyres get better grip.Also in dry conditions RWD cars have much better handling,because front wheels are used for steering only,unlike front wheel drive cars.
-If you need a car for daily driving,FWD is better.A front wheel drive car,when not driven sporty,has better traction in variable conditions(rain,snow),because it has the majority of its weight shifted torward the front/steering/ wheels.Also FWD cars have better fuel economy,because of lesser mechanical losses.On the downside,when driven hard,FWD cars fail at a certain point and tend to understeer,which is a lot harder to manage than oversteering.Powerful FWD cars,when accelerating hard will also torque-steer(pull from the long halfshaft)
-AWD cars I can only recommend if you plan to race in rally(insane traction).For daily driver its not worth it - burns a lot of fuel,very expensive to maintain.
-Diesel vs Gasoline - Its a tie.Diesel has a lot better fuel economy but expensive maintenance.Gasoline = worse fuel economy,but cheaper parts.If its for daily driving I would pick diesel = for the huge torque.But since I assume you will buy a used car,get whats in best condition.
I will give example with myself.I have 2 cars - old BMW E30 and Passat 2.0 TDI 2008.
-BMW has swapped engine(S50B30) with some tuning.The BMW I use only for racing because it burns 30-35/100 and oversteers a lot.Its absolute shit for daily driving.
-Passat is a slow car,but so far is very reliable and has great fuel economy.Great for daily driving.