OP you know if it were my student, I would say most important things are reliability and safety. In other words, will it start and drive when you need it to? Second, if, God forbid, you do get in an accident, is it a car which is likely to protect you? As far as the snow, if you can get a AWD / 4WD with good ground clearance, great. But if not, these things come behind reliability and safety because most times the roads will be clear or passable with a solid front wheel drive vehicle (with good tires). The other times stay home or walk. The models you mentioned (Civic, Corolla, Elantra) would all fit the bill nicely.