Go with this.

Last September, I bought a 2009 Subaru Forester with 14,500 miles for around $17,000, so close to your amount. It has full time AWD for our snowy winters and muddy boat ramps, gets over 30 mpg highway, can pull a trailer which allowed me to get rid of my gas guzzler pickup and comfortably fits our family of four on trips.

Not a sexy rig but fits my needs exactly.

Spend about $1000 more & get a brand new ford fiesta, 40mpg, sporty looks, full warranty.

My parents have a new Fiesta and it is a pretty nice car, though small. Dad is pulling in over 42 mpg in rural driving (manual transmission). They make a great car for someone without kids.

Yeah, not the roomiest cars, but i'm pretty comfortable in them at 5'9.

And you cant get better mileage without going to a pain in the ass hybrid.

There seems to be plenty of room for driver and passenger. The back seat wouldn't work for us with two teenage boys.

I wouldn't mind one of the five door Fiestas when we are empty nesters.

It's a certified used vehicle, 2010 or 2011 , has around 10-20k miles.
Damn near every 4 cylinder sedan that I just looked at could be had for 16k or less.
You just need to decide if a model year and a few miles are worth leather and a moonroof. ;)
For my money, Toyota's certified program is best, then Honda and GM.

definitely looking for a family car

Would probably do a used BMW 3 series.

The older I get, the more I am disturbed by the unchallenged hypocrisy of "real" Americans who won't buy American cars.

Id never own a BMW out of warranty.

Go drive a Camry at Sullivan Toyota, see how that fits.

I plan on driving my current car into the ground, but if I was going to get a new one, it would be a smaller SUV. I really miss the storage capacity and ability to haul bulky objects. I wonder if you could find a used Murono for that price?

Willy Sullivan is a guy I'd like to business with.

Acura TL. May not find one under $16,000 with your mileage requirement but I love those cars.