Wife driving one way 40 miles to get to work and already unhappy with the Jeep Wrangler gas mileage. On a good day it will be about 15 mpg. So, we are tossing around the idea of getting a car that is good on gas (does not have to be 40 or 50 mpg), but also is stylish. Got the following in mind:

Mini Cooper
Honda CR Z
Hyundai Veloster

One other car that peaked my interest is the Hyundai Genesis. Looks like you can get a good package for under $30k.

Any thoughts or other suggestions? Do not prefer rear wheel drive car as this is snow country.

Ford Focus... I really like the Focus ST. 

I didn't used to be a fan of Korean cars but Hyundai has made huge strides in quality.
If you like the Genesis then check out the Elantra.  One of my friends has one and the 2.0 turbo makes great power but you can also get 40 mpg on the highway with it.

The Chevy Cruze and Ford Fusion are also nice looking cars IMO that get good MPG's.

Ford Focus... I really like the Focus ST. 

^^^^^^^my vote. Or for a wife/girlfriend, Fiat 500.

^^^^^^^my vote. Or for a wife/girlfriend, Fiat 500.

... Abarth if I had to do a 500! 

... Abarth if I had to do a 500! 

Very cool car! I'm glad they are bringing them to the US now.  Fun car to drive (from what I read) and they are capable of 35+ mpg to boot.

The next few years for compacts are going to be fun! 

What about a VW Jetta TDI? 40+ mpg and it's a very nice car! My wife loves our SportWagen, I do too. It's a diesel, that takes some getting used to but not that much. 

Ford Focus ST is growing on me. Gonna go by to check one out.

If your not hard against it. (Some people are for political reasons)

Look at the Prius. It is one of the most reliable and least maintenance required cars built today. If you can get by the politics and just look at the car you might be surprised.

Also ,you can get a rebuilt one for a lot less money. Here is a guy who rebuilds them.

http://www.autobeyours.com/

Fiat 500 for the girl. Good choice.

What about a VW Jetta TDI? 40+ mpg and it's a very nice car! My wife loves our SportWagen, I do too. It's a diesel, that takes some getting used to but not that much. 

+10000
Take a test drive, you will be surprised, it aint the diesel of old.  I have averaged 50mpg on a 650 mile rountrip crossing a couple of mountain passes each way.  That was riding solo.  I just got back from Colorado Springs, loaded like Jed Clampet.  Did Yellowstone, lots of touristy things while there, did Pikes Peak and all the surrounding attractions.  The trip averaged over 42 mpg, and all in style

My wife was driving all over the county (realtor) in a big 4X4 GMC getting terrible mileage. We traded it for a used BMW328i, it's getting 36 mpg on the freeway and it's lots of fun to drive. The performance and drive-ability of this car is awesome.

A friend of mine bought 2 328xi for him and his wife and love them. Matching colors is a little odd.

I just bought a Chevrolet Sonic for my 100 mile commute.  I think that GM has finally figure out how to build a subcompact.  My wife loves her Honda Fit.

Wife driving one way 40 miles to get to work and already unhappy with the Jeep Wrangler gas mileage. On a good day it will be about 15 mpg. So, we are tossing around the idea of getting a car that is good on gas (does not have to be 40 or 50 mpg), but also is stylish. Got the following in mind:

Mini Cooper
Honda CR Z
Hyundai Veloster

One other car that peaked my interest is the Hyundai Genesis. Looks like you can get a good package for under $30k.

Any thoughts or other suggestions? Do not prefer rear wheel drive car as this is snow country.

Going against the grain here.. When I test drove the Mini Cooper, I had a BLAST! I was hoping that I could tow with the
Countryman (4x4), but no dice. Bmw's 4 year 100K maintenance program too.. Plus I let my SO drive it, she smiled the whole time,
but we both purchased Subaru's, mine the 3.6 Outback, her's a Legacy, both awd's. If I didn't have a garage queen already, I'd consider
a John Cooper Works Edition Mini.. Here's an example of one..
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/John-Cooper-Manual-Hatchback-1-6L-CD-4-wheel-disc-brakes-ABS-brakes-AM-FM-radio-/110931271458?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item19d404df22

Going against the grain here.. When I test drove the Mini Cooper, I had a BLAST! I was hoping that I could tow with the
Countryman (4x4), but no dice. Bmw's 4 year 100K maintenance program too.. Plus I let my SO drive it, she smiled the whole time,
but we both purchased Subaru's, mine the 3.6 Outback, her's a Legacy, both awd's. If I didn't have a garage queen already, I'd consider
a John Cooper Works Edition Mini.. Here's an example of one..
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/John-Cooper-Manual-Hatchback-1-6L-CD-4-wheel-disc-brakes-ABS-brakes-AM-FM-radio-/110931271458?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item19d404df22

I dont know how much 'trunk' space the Mini's have, I can affirm that the Subaru's have good storage room in the back

I dont know how much 'trunk' space the Mini's have, I can affirm that the Subaru's have good storage room in the back

Ditto on the Jetta SportWagen.   

Last night we scoured the local delearship. Not sure if we are slamming the plastic down, but it was fun to check em out.

No Focus ST anywhere to be found locally. Wife did not quite like the looks of Focus SE. So she deducing that she will not like ST either. Guess we shall see.

VW jetta is definitely under consideration. But we liked the looks of other cars better.

We talked about Minis. Our first choice, but we are both worried about maintenance cost.

Honda CR Z got some bad reviews. We went and checked one out - could not test drive. I am not too impressed by the 122 horses and wife not too impressed that you can barely through the rear-view mirror.

Good news is, we definitely liked the Hyundai Veloster!! Too bad they only had the non-turbo version. I told the wife, if we are buying it, we are getting the turbo version!

I can definitely give a huge thumbs-up to my 011 Camry, although the styling is more "middle-of-the-road" than the others you're looking at...I'm getting 31 to 32 mpg on my 100-mile-a-day commute, and the comfort is unsurpassed in my experience....could not ask for a better commuter...that's with the 2.5L 4-cyl and 6-spd auto tranny....surprisingly good performance, great comfort and good styling, in my book...