Honda is the way to go IMO. Unfortunately (or maybe not to some people) they tend to hold their value quite well over the years. You can find some for good deals though since there are so many out there (Accord or Civic). I have an 00 Accord DX (stripper model with manual locks, windows, cloth seats, etc) with 120K miles on it. Only problem it has had is it needed its brakes changed
I have had its spark plugs and timing belt changed though.
It has quite a stiff chassis and is a safe car, and rides and handles much better than a W123.
It gets 28 mpg city/highway and 31 highway with AC on if you keep your speed at 70.