Mate,going from personal experience,I'd stick to a cheap basic car. I'm the same age as you and in some ways I regret buying a R33 turbo as my first car.
The main reason being is that it costs a S*** load in petrol,and I'm on basic pay which doesn't help. It works out better in the long run to save that money wasted in general expenses in maintaining such a car,which will come in handy later on down the track. Besides,it's always better to learn to drive in a not so flash car and build up experience in that.If you happen to have a crash in the earlier stages of driving (not saying that you will), its better a crap car than a nice import,right? Then when you get your full license you'll have the reward of upgrading to a performance vehicle .