What car should I buy? Target price range generally mid 20's

[Indy Texas]

As I mentioned in another thread a few weeks ago I was hit head on by a wrong way drive.  Fortunately, I was unhurt in the accident, but my car (2011 Corolla) was totaled. 

I'm looking to stay under $30k, and generally in the mid 20's (though I won't rule out high 20's).

Some of the cars I have been looking into is a Ford Focus (Titanium) Ford Fusin SE, Mazda 3, Kia Optima, basically cars along those lines.  I was also briefly thinking about a use BMW 328I (2010, 2011) which are in the same price range as the newer cars I am looking at, but the cost of ownership in a BMW has made me lean against that idea.

I'm generally looking for something with good gas mileage, while I would like one fully equipped, other than a moon roof the various options aren't a requirement.  Just figured I would get some thoughts.

Please do not buy a used BMW unless your budget allows you to spend a lot of money fixing everything that will inevitably break.

If you want something like a 3-Series but more reliable, get a used Lexus IS. I've had mine for four years and had no issues with it.

[Indy Texas]

I'm also not a fan of leather seating.  I might be if I lived in a colder clime, but going to sit on sun-heating scorching leather does not appeal to me.

No.  Leather seats get warm, for sure, but not hot.  Not unless you have seat warmers, that is.  Then they get nice and toasty.  I used to turn mine up all the way as soon as I got in the car.  Now, those cheesy PVC seats get hot.  I know, because I had my share of plastic seats when I was young.  I had a 1979 Toyota Deathtrap for a while.  Yellow with black plastic interior.  Very hot in the summer, ice cold in the winter.  Then I opted for cloth.  I figured that it wouldn't get so hot in the summer or so cold in the winter.  True, it doesn't, but it wasn't long before I had burn holes and beer stains on those.  Finally I discovered leather.  Oh, how I loved it.  Leather can stand up to the cherry on a spliff, a cup of coffee, child pee, and dog sh**t.  You can leave the top down and let it rain on the leather.  No problem.  (I know this from experience.)  Your drunk date can vomit and bleed all over it.  No problem.  It's good stuff.  God created leather, man.  Or let's say it evolved from the primordial soup, if that's what you prefer.  Either way, it's all-natural.  And it's tough.  How do you think cows survive cow-tipping?  They're covered with leather, that's how.  Do you think they'd survive it if they were covered with the sort of cloth Japanese automakers put on the lower-end cars?  I don't think so.

I believe you're thinking of MB-Tex, the indestructible leather substitute available as the base option on most Mercedes. Leather can stain. MB-Tex cannot. Leather will crack and wrinkle with sun exposure over time. MB-Tex doesn't.

[Indy Texas]

That totally looks like the interior of the car I was driving when I first started posting here!  Are you stalking me??

Well, anyway, you're right about leather not being totally indestructible.  It can stand up to many things, but it does get oxidized under bird guano.  I learned this when I left the top down on a Fiat Spider ragtop roadster I used to have about 20 years ago.  

Still, it looks like the smasher knows that he wants a Mazda 3 with a better sound system and seats made of a dead cow.  It'll get good mileage, be easy to park, be slightly safer in the snow and ice than a Jetta, and way more comfortable than a Prius.  I say that he's on the right track.

Maybe I am...

Actually I just have a soft spot for old Mercedes. My dad had a W126 S-Class when I was very little. And being a stereotypical private school kid, many of my friends' moms had E-Class wagons or sedans (my own mother opted for a Volvo). We also had a W202 C-Class for a while that had the aforementioned indestructible MB Tex seats. Up until a year or so ago, my parents had a GLK350, but they committed heresy and opted for real leather seats and it just wasn't the same...

[Indy Texas]

I made a decision, I am going with a 2014 Mazda3 S Grand Touring.

Nice! Sedan or hatch?

[Indy Texas]

As far as hatchbacks go, I wouldn't mind having one of these...