About a year ago I bought a 2015 Impala from Car Max. It was a rent-a-car company vehicle, with about 17,000 miles. I had Car Max put in a back-up camera, leather seats and got a guarantee out to 125,000 miles. All for under $20K, registration fee (i.e. sales tax) included).
V-6, 305 HP (faster than my old ‘69 GTO to 60 and in the 1/4 mile by about a second in both cases!!!), but gets 30 mpg on the highway with its 6-speed transmission. PLENTY of room inside for 5 and a bunch of luggage. Reliability will not ever be a problem.
Fuel may be more than a Jetta or other economy car, but you have more safety, more room and great durability. You will get your money’s worth.
Is it the perfect car? Nope, no such animal. But its damned practical, yet fun if I want to punch it on the open road (it hits 100 very fast, and at that speed it feels like its doing only about 75.
Oh, and the handling in the snow should be pretty good - its a front-drive car, and with the weight of the engine on those wheels, it isn’t bad in lousy weather.
Maybe they've gotten better, but I wouldn't look at one. I rented one a few years ago, and it had a small defroster centered on the windshield - no defrost in front of the driver. Which would have been OK, but I had to drive through an icestorm. I had to drive leaning over the center console to try to spot the edges of the roadway through the small clear area in the center of the windshield.