Some parts are hard to come by, and the gas mileage is not exactly goo, to say nothing of the safety concerns. Given how an absurdedly large percentage of young drivers have wrecks within the forst 2 years, something a bit more common might not be a better place to start. I am very grateful my dad had the foresight to let me use something crunchable, lacking in power, and yet still fun for my first car. (a 4cyl, stick, Jeep Wrangler soft top. I could run to 30 faster than this thing could go.)
If you want something more on the classic side, how about an older Volvo? They are built like tanks, they are safe, they can be made very fast, and parts are cheap.