I own a 2010 Golf, and I love it more than any car I've ever owned or driven before. That being said, I'd consider a Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta or a Mazda 2 or 3. $18,000 will get you in the door for a new Golf but you wont be able to afford the options that make the investment truly worth it. To put it into perspective, I bought my Golf brand new in October of '09 with the Cold Weather package (heated seats and washer nozzles), Bluetooth and a power sun roof. After tax, title and license and $2500 down, I was out the door at $21,000.

I strongly recommend you go drive a Honda fit, and Mazda 2. Both are solid competitors to the Golf and you could probably afford to spec them out with more options than you could with the Volkswagen as VW options are notoriously pricey. The other thing to consider is fuel economy. The 5 cylinder Golf engine is awesome, makes a beautiful noise and I respect it immensely, however, it is not the best when it comes to practical fuel economy for its size. Again, for perspective, I drive the 5 door with the DSG transmission (manual sadly not available) and 95% of my time in the car is on the highway and I routinely achieve and average of 31mpg in summer and 34mpg in winter.

Finally, I advise you buy a used model. Now is the perfect time to buy as dealers are receiving their 2012 stock and need to make some room on their lots. A used car with a few hundred miles on it isn't any worse than a brand new one and you will save thousands. Hope this helps you some, PM me if you have any questions.