As a woman who drove column shifter vehicles by preference for years I have some suggestions for you.
- Top priority is choosing a vehicle that is in good, safe, sound condition! If buying used, be sure to take it to YOUR mechanic for a thorough look over BEFORE buying. It’s well worth the cost.
- Look for a vehicle within your budget. If that means buying smaller with minimal bells and whistles that is far better than going over budget. And remember to factor in the sales tax, licensing, and insurance premiums plus money for maintenance and inevitable repairs as important parts of that budget!
- Especially when buying your first car, buy only what you need and can afford and not your wish list. It is how to minimize or, hopefully, stay out of debt.
- Be sure to take any vehicles that make your short list for extended test drives over roads and in traffic conditions you typically will drive on a regular basis. A good idea is to figure out a “test track route” that you test drive each vehicle over so you have an accurate comparison of ride and handling.
- As to a column shifter versus a console shifter, be open to trying a console shifter. Pay particular attention to how physically comfortable or not ANY shifter is for you to handle. For example, in my case any shifter that requires squeezing a button is painful for me so I avoid those.
- You will find very few, if any, column shifters still available in any vehicles of reasonable age, mileage, and condition. So do not let your preference for a column shifter, reasonable as your preference is, limit which vehicles make your short list.
- Be sure not to focus only on the type of shifter as you evaluate vehicle components. Pay attention to ease of getting in and out; seat comfort; ease of using all the controls, not just the shifter; how well seat and mirrors adjust such you can comfortably and accurately reach the gas and brake pedals and also make reliable use of what you can see in all the mirrors; how good is your driver visibility looking out the windshield and being able to check blindspots; ease of accessing and using the cargo area; etc.
Good luck.
P.S. Just to give you an idea, I learned to drive in a combination of a tiny, bare bones econobox with a console shifter and a large sedan with a column shifter. I drove that econobox for some years until I could afford larger cars with column shifters for many years. A few years ago I had to settle for going back to a console shifter due to unavailability of column shifters anymore.
It’s a matter of becoming familiar with whatever vehicle you have; the shifter, reading the instrumentation, reaching for and using various controls for lights and air-conditioning and heater and radio, etc. all by familiarity and habit. Any vehicle new to you will seem strange at first. The more experienced you become as a driver and the more vehicles you get to drive will gradually make adjusting to differences between vehicles easier. Safe and happy motoring to you.