Best commuter car I had was an '87 Corolla FX-16.

Two door hatchback. 1.6l fuel injected with variable valve timing. 7800 rpm redline, 115 angry horsepower.

I had no idea what it was when I got it. Turns out it was a sleeper hot rod by taking a 4a-ge engine from the GTS and MR2 and stuffing it in a plain white wrapper.

The little engine is still sought after by Toyota nerds. About 5000 rpm, the valve timing changed and it felt like a turbo kicked in.

Small and light, it was like driving a go kart. Rowing through the five speed was fun with a light clutch and short throw shifter.

I put around 100k miles on it. Sold it about 7 years ago with 240k to a kid that was very excited to find one.