2015 Kia Soul (Base model, 6 speed manual).
One of the cheapest brand-new cars you can buy (I got it for 15k otd including 3 years of free maintenance), and it comes in stick. First new car I ever bought. I've always loved boxy cars; my first car was a manual 1989 Mazda 323 (not mine in the picture, but same model/color). Still miss that thing. Before the soul, I drove a 1990 VW Vanagon. Loved so much about it, but I was in waaay over my head in terms of maintenance and repairs. Sold it at a loss but by the time I got rid of it I was just relieved to have it out of my life (in a bittersweet way, of course).
With the Soul, I slapped a roof rack on the top and it makes a great ski/camp/climb vehicle (for the price). I can lay down the rear seats and fit a full-sized inflatable mattress in the back in what feels like a tiny personal homage to my old VW. It's not fast or powerful, but it's still pretty fun to drive, super roomy, great visibility, 10 year/100k mile warranty, low fuel costs, cheap insurance, and it hasn't given me any problems yet (20k on the clock).
I can't imagine there's a ton of love for the Soul on r/cars and I understand why; it's a cheap econobox with supposedly obnoxious hamster commercials (never actually seen any), but damn if I don't love mine.
