Straysheepie, I'm new to posting around here, and hope you don't mind if I add two cents. This might be the wrong thread to attach this to, if so, I apologize to all.
In my opinion, you're going through the right steps in the process a sensible buyer will take.
So far you've resisted buyer fatigue, so stick with it. You've gathered info, tested conclusions, and re-evaluated. Having followed this and the previous thread, one can see the progression.
At this stage, it seems your wants have changed from under $3K and small, to up to $20K small or mid-size, and "safe".
I live in Delta and commute to Surrey. Used to commute to New Westminster, so understand your comments about Vancouver drivers.
It makes sense to be honest with yourself about what you really want and are willing to pay for.
At that crash site you gave, both the Civic and Echo are average, and one of them (the Echo?) has a black mark for Injuries.
If safety is a high priority, what about a Volvo?
Their safety is above average, and around $15K would get you a late 90's 850 series, which is kind of mid-size. ($3.5K-$7K for early 90's). Somewhere I recall you saying you had a family contact at Regency, they have an 850 listed in the Buy and Sell online. Might be worth a test drive.
(I have no financial interest nor affiliation to anyone in the auto industry, but freely admit to a bias towards Volvos. I drive one, my wife drives one, and my daughter is driving a 78 that we got almost 2 years ago for $1,400. Part of the reason for the bias is their safety and survivability record.)
Hope this is not straying too far from the thread title, but it seemed that as your criteria and budget have evolved, it was worthwhile mentioning.
Good luck, maybe you already got that 2000 Civic, in which case - terrific.
