Lots of good advice here! I will only add that if you tempted to buy a two door, don't. You will regret it every time you have to put the kid in the back seat.
I have a suggestion that may seem odd to some, but you might consider the Ford C-Max. Plenty of room, it has a hatchback, great fuel economy and believe it or not, decent power. We've had one for two years and nada problems.
Only thing is, since it's a hybrid, you can't really trick out the exhaust.
