I'm partial as of late, but a Mazda Protege is a decent little car with decent options for that price. I got mine for $2600 with 120k miles, it was a steal, but you can still find them within your friend's budget. It's a good car that gets decent gas mileage and has 130hp and ~130tq with the 2L motor, so it's peppy.
Also, I've seen some EP3s running around that price range, that's on the low end though, so they will be quite used.
My problem with most cars that would be fun and cool at that price range is that everyone else wants them too, so Preludes run too high and Si Civics, plus, they will all be modified and driven hard, that's why I was recommending a Protege, they just aren't as popular.