You have a Nissan, so you obviously know how they run. Your 95 Sentra is getting up in years, but I had an ‘87 that topped 300K miles before I sold it. If yours has been maintained well, I would expect it to handle that commute easily.

If you must get a different car, look at some of the smaller cars from Ford. You should be able to get an 07-09 Focus or Fusion (4cly) for under $10K. My wife bought a 2008 Fusion SE last year for just under $10K. The Fusion will get mileage in the high 20’s-low 30’s and a Focus will run in the high 30’s to low 40’s (with manual transmission). Expect to easily get 250K miles out of a well maintained Ford.

Some others to consider:
Hyundai (Elantra or Sontata - good gas mileage / safety / low price)
Suzuki (Their SX4 is quite peppy, decent mileage, and many 07-08 models should be under 10k)
Kia (maybe not my first choice, but the Rio is sporty looking, good mileage, and safe - also look at the Forte)
Mazda Protoge’ (nearly same car as Ford Focus)
Scion (Sold by Toyota, but a much more affordable car - check out a used “A”, “B”, or “XD)
Mitsubishi (Lancer is my favorite in their line, they run forever and get good mileage)

Other cars newer than ‘08 may be out of your price limits, but you can always look for something in the ‘02 and up range if you can get one in good shape and decent mileage. Buying an ‘04 or ‘05 model for only $5k will save you a ton of money for new tires, a tune-up, or anything else it may need and still keep you under budget. Bill