Hyundai Elantra or Volkswagen Jetta SE?

Alrighty so here's the breakdown: I need a car. I'm tired of walking everywhere, and I'm excited to have saved up this long, but I don't want to be impulsive either. This is the end of the month and so dealers are waving their flags shouting "deal! deal!" and I don't want to fall for it unless it genuinely IS a deal. So here's what we got:

I have $10,000 saved up. I can spend it all, or save a little and spend the rest on something else, who knows. But that's what I got. The two contenders I'm wrestling with right now are the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta SE and the 2010 Hyundai Elantra. The two models I'm looking at have pretty much every feature I could possibly want: XM radio, sunroof, automatic, cupholders, everything is almost identical.

The few differences between them do lean me towards the Elantra, though. It gets like 4mpg better on city and hwy, has better crash test ratings, but only slightly, it costs less to insure, and it has a 10yr/100,000 mile warranty vs. Volkswagen's 3yr/30,000 that only covers like the powertrain. But there's one BIG difference that the Volkswagen has over the Hyundai: it's name.

Most people I talk to shrug their noses at Hyundai, and the review I get from people that have owned them are mixed. Consumer Reports says that Hyundai has come a long way, and for compact cars the Elantra is the Top Pick for 2010. But everyone loves Volkswagen. It's the #1 car company in the world right now.

Name means a lot to me, mainly for resell value. I'll only be owning this car for probably 3 years. I really want to work overseas for the Peace Corps after I get my Bachelors, so I'll be selling whatever I get and using that money for either travel or to pay down my student loans. I need to be able to sell whatever I get for a good amount. Kelly Blue Book says that both cars will likely lose about the same percentage value over 3 years, based off previous year models selling rates. That kinda shocked me.

The Jetta I test drove today is $21k. No discounts, no incentives, no 0.0% financing, nothing. The Elantra I test drove they are marking down from $19k to $15k as long as I do the $10k down payment in cash, which is no problem. That's a pretty big incentive, especially since I'll probably be able to sell it in 3 years for what I put down on it.

The Jetta means higher gas prices, higher insurance, higher monthly payments, and a less safe ride. As I type this now it seems the choice is clear, at least for buying a new vehicle. I could buy used car, even a 2009, and save money, too, but I really really want a new car. I'm biased against owning something that someone else may have trashed, or that may have unforeseen costs associated with repairs that forced it to be sold used in the first place.

So that's the gist of it. Hope it wasn't too much of a rant. You comments are much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!
~Eric