ED9man

Si has sportier looking bumpers with a front lip, 14 inch alloy wheels, and 2 mirrors. Looks better.

v8guy

She (I assume) just wants something that runs. I don't think she cares much about the motor swap possibilities so a DX (base model) would be just fine. The only thing to avoid would be the automatic transmission as they are prohibitively expensive to replace and likely to fail soon on a older, higher mileage auto.

Other than that the '90-'91s have additional side impact bracing, making them a little safer.

Ideally she should look for an Si, since they have all kinds of nice creature comforts and styling cues, as mentioned by ed9man and others. That and they have the most powerful engine. However a DX would suit her just fine.

The most important thing to look for is a car that has been maintained and not had the snot beaten out of it. Avoid "modified" cars, because they have most likely been "modified" by some complete tool that just butchered everything. Even if they haven't been molested too badly, they have probably had the crap beaten out of them. Adult owned is always a big plus.

My personal tip when buying a used car is to buy one from someone that lives in a fairly affluent area. People with money actually do stuff like maintain their cars properly and take them to reputable mechanics for servicing. Also they typically don't really want to deal with the hassle of selling a car and don't feel financially pressed to squeeze every last cent out of one. So you can generally get a better deal on a car with a better maintainence history. Most of them are happy to get $1000 for a $2000 car because the dealer only offered them $500 for it as a trade-in when they bought their new car.

shorty_boy

Ohk, well my betsie is an hf and i get about 35-48 mpg, depending on how agressive i drive. I would not recommend it for a race car unless you have a swap in mind because mine is about 72hp at the wheel (when i got it, now it is in the high 80's cause of my intake and exhaust... thanx noy) but yeah it is stripped down with hardly ne power ne thing. So it has loads of room for improvement if you are a do it yourself er, personally i love her but she may become my project car if i go ahead and buy the insight. She is the lightest of the bunch and has about 96lbs of torque. I am thinking about copying honda tuning's geurila torbo and turbo my hf to about 16o hp. just something fun to do i guess (if i get the insight). But yeah Si is the way to go mostly but an hf is good for a first car (betsie is my first)... i guess i am rambling now so i will stop now. Email me if you have hf specific questions, i just might be able to help.