You can get a somewhat sporty...aaah who am I kidding, a very practical, extremely durable, and very reasonable total cost of ownership (especially insurance) with just about any Volvo.
For 9 grand you can get a butt load of Volvo. Personally, in your shoes, I'd get a mid nineties 940 or 960 turbo wagon (there's a sedan too if your so inclined). You'll come in under 9 grand, leaving some room for modifications and customizations, be able to fit your entire dorm room in the cargo area (or your entire entourage for that Dave Matthews concert), and those things are notoriously good for 300,000 miles with nothing but routine maintenance.
You can really turn some heads with the power available to extract from a nicely tuned and reasonably maintained four cylinder turbo. Replacement parts are plentiful in the junk yards, parts, both OEM and aftermarket aren't outrageous. Plus they're as safe as anything out there.
Check the forums at turbobricks.org for tuning/upgrade options, and swedespeed.com for a decent classified.
Food for thought.
-bear
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