Shucks guys, thank you...

Andy (I think that's your name LOL), the Juke is a FUN little car. Definitely scope a used one if you can. The AWD option is nice but spendy, the FWD version would be perfectly fine in the snow and would be a bit lighter (sportier) as well.

I work for Nissan, so I'm very familiar with the Juke. If you need some literature on one, let me know, although most everything I have access to can be found at 2011 Nissan JUKE? | Nissan USA Official Site.

It's a better winter vehicle, but I don't think it comes close to the Crossfire for the bang-per-buck. Used, the Juke is still high-teens.

I'm sticking to my guns on the first post... Miata seems to be the answer to your dilemma. Good mileage for the commute to the sweetheart, good reliability for the commute to the place that funds the sweetheart and all sweetheart related activities, and it's paid off.

Win, win, win.

You have forever to go in debt and get bigger/badder cars. No sense rushing into it now... build some momentum, gather some liquidity, and get your new family established. Wheels will come. No matter what you drive, if you can't be at peace owning it, it ain't worth the momentary grin you get from pointing to it in a parking lot and saying "mine".

Whatever you decide, we're here to help.