It also (unfortunately) needs to be an automatic...
No it doesn't. You only
think it does. (The only exception is if the intended driver is missing an appendage or something.)
...for female... reasons
And missing
that "appendage" doesn't count!
Seriously: back when my wife and I were dating, I told her that I wasn't going to quit driving a stick and she was going to have to be able to drive my car in an emergency, so she was going to have to learn too. She learned. All cars in our household from then on have had manual transmissions. "Female" is not an excuse.
Now, moving on...
I recommend the Hyundai Accent. I owned a 2003 model; it was great. If it weren't for the fact that it was crushed in my driveway by a falling tree, I'd still be driving it. The Hyundai Elantra GT is probably good too, if you want a larger 5-door hatchback.
Otherwise, the obvious answer is 1999-2006 Honda Insight. 70+ MPG! Gigantic odometer readings are likely, but it's a Honda so who cares?
Older model Honda Civic hatchbacks, although they might not meet the "look less shitty" criteria. We have a 1993 civic hatchback that I bought in 2003 for $1800. Its a teenage boy car for sure (i.e. put dual exhaust pipes and paint it neon pink), but an awesome car....45 mpg on the highway, and has only had expected maintenance costs.
I'll look into those. Looks like the '95-'00 generation was the last of the Civic hatchbacks. I'll have to run them by the GF as far as the "look less shitty" criteria.
For a Civic hatch you'd want the '92-'95 version, specifically the VX trim level. For '96 and newer you'd want the HX, but that only came as a coupe.
Another good option along the same lines would be an '88-'91 CRX HF.
