I'm with the others on here--why all the fwd car and one rwd car? It sounds to me like you really haven't researched your options very well.

What do you want? A sports car, a sports compact, or an economy car. All three are pretty different. You mentioned that you drove a civic. Just a plain civic or Si? I assume it was a plain civic. They are nice cars, but far from sporty. You said you will be in New Mexico and there will be some nice roads you want to explore. I get the idea that you are interested in some enthusiastic back road driving. This is what will decide whether you go (IMO) economy or sporty. If you just want to putz around a plain economy car is fine. There;s no need for a crossfire or sports compact even.

However, if you are interested in some driving fun, you need to consider actual sporty cars along with the crossfire. If you are looking for used cars around the 20k mark, you need to drive at least the following: 2006+ Civic Si, 2006+ GTI, and possibly a mazdaspeed 3, though I don't know what those go for used. Take the Tc off the list. Unless of course, you really like it.

Those are some decent sport compacts to consider. If you want some rwd fun, you will want to consider at least the following used vehicles: crossfire, honda s2000, early z4 2.5, SLK, Boxster (some of these may be pushing your 20k limit, but I believe all can be found around that price). While not rwd, you may also consider a first generation (~2000-2006?) Audi TT.

I just purchased a 2008 crossfire for not that much more than 20k, and it was, by far, the best sporty value on the market currently. I personally have always had a softspot for these cars and have enjoyed my time with it thus far. I can't speak to the reliabilty of the car as I don't even have 1k miles yet. I can say though, that the car is really fun.

IMO, you should really think about the type of vehicle you are interested in and then consider all potential options that could satisfy your interests. have fun with it! This is the cool part of shopping for a new car--driving all sorts of vehicles that could potentially be your next purchase!