What kid of car should I consider?

Chrysler 200
Dodge Dart
Jeep Patriot

Chevrolet Malibu

Ford Focus
Ford Fusion

I'm a really big Chrysler fan so allot of my attention is drawn to those cars, but I also feel obligated to look into GM and Ford.

Look and compare. Drive a few of them. You have to consider all makes and see which you like the best.

The Jeep Patriot is a very unreliable vehicle that has no real redeeming qualities at all. Chrysler products rank at the bottom of almost all reliability ratings. Saying that, of the cars you have listed the Chevy Malibu or Ford Fusion would be my choice by a wide margin.

Out of your list I vote the Focus. I have one and really like it. It's small and fuel efficient as well as has modern tech. The auto transmissions give people problems though so research. I have one and so far 20 thousand miles no issues. I had a Dodge Avenger and Caliber previously and they were ok. The Caliber and the Patriot share similar parts. My Caliber was reliable and I really liked it but it was pretty basic interms of tech. It was also really good in snow in sure the current Patriot is similar even in the way it drives. The Dodge Avenger was terrible. If you get an older 200 I'd say avoid. It was also pretty basic, but roomier for passengers. It sucked down gas like it was water and very un fuel efficient. Mine maybe was just broken or something but it vibrated during idle and didn't feel very stable during highway trips. The dealer said it was fine. My mom had the Malibu and I must say out of the cars I've mentioned it's by far the best in my opinion. Roomy, fuel efficient!