I think i must win in the smallest first car award here
I drove a Rover Mini Cooper 1.3i 1993 model....with a 1.3 Litre 4 Cyl engine
Advantages were, really light weight so it feels fast and went well and its very cheap to run with fuel etc. and looks pretty good if you get a good one
Disadvantages were, its not everyones piece of cake.
but i think if you wanted a cheap first car that was pretty good what Krush said is a good idea. But also think of other options, maybe an older model Civic or something along those lines (cheap to run and cheap to buy)
Good luck with your decision