I take it a BRZ is out of the question?
I agree that a WRX would be a great car for the gearhead with a small family and some extra coin to spend on a little pocket rocket; wagon or sedan, I suppose it's all a matter of preference rather than necessity (I mean, if she's getting something big, do you really need the extra cargo space of a wagon?). Conversely, there's also a Lancer Ralliart, which is also a sedan/hatch with comparable performance.
I can't really think of anything else that would be reliable/inexpensive to buy/cheap upkeep. Not anything terribly useful I think.
I mean, It's a little ridiculous, but there's the Dodge Caliber SRT4, but I wouldn't buy that myself; performance is lackluster ( like they just dumped something more powerful in the engine bay of a regular Caliber and called it a day), and I'd rather a car that I can look back at after I park it, than a car I'd rather avoid looking at altogether.