hey,
I would definatly go with the ford,
But if you dont have the cash for a newish model i would suggest getting something in the same sort of ford family without the price tag
I only turned 18 a couple of months ago, and for my run around i have a TX3( in my opinion they are not ugly like the 5door hatches and they are not somthing you will see every day.
Mine is a 85 KC TX3 and i fell in love with it the first time i saw it
, and if you really wanted something special you could always get a Standard Turbo Version :P
anyways good luck with everything