I would say a Kia Forte Koup... A Manual SX with the moonroof comes up to 19,840. The Forte is far more customizable though - buy it bare-bones with a 156 hp 2.0, or load it up with leather, climate control, etc.

A TC most comparably optioned (to an SX with moonroof) would need sat radio, Bluetooth, and fogs to match the standard equipment of the Kia. The total would be 19,763.

Similar size, performance. The Kia is down a bit on power, but down a bit on weight as well.

As far as the "haters?" Bah, who cares. If they don't like it, they can pay my payment... or if I pay it off early (which I will), they can pay my insurance. I'm not going to drag race people in a compact car with a Camry 4-banger.

I do chuckle when I get the "ricers wanna race" crap on my motorcycle - seriously, depending on who tested it, the 0-60 times on there have usually been around 3.5 sec. Do they really think the Celica with the fart-can is going to top that?