I'd say the answer depends on a lot of things. I'll try to be brief.
Let's start with the drivetrain: What do you drive IRL? 4WD, FF (Front-Wheel Drive), FR (Rear Wheel Drive)? (Most people probably have never seen an MR, so...)
Next question is, how familiar are you with cars, driving, and the like? If you lack experience driving, also consider how you are with flight sims/space fighter sims. If you're good at all this stuff, look at an FR, probably Turbocharged. Once you get the car pointed in the right direction, these suckers are rockets. If you're not, then look at 4WD or FF. I can get an FF to "go where I point it" without spinning out... good for beginners. 4WD is great, because you've almost always got some grip,
somewhere. For those of us who've experienced a 4WD truck over rough terrain, that familiar "jerking" feeling is more drawn out--you'll be spkidding in this game, and then you feel a long "jerk" as a tire gains traction, then another, then another, and you're on your way again. 4WD is also good for beginners, as it helps compensate for loss of control.
Finally...
what car do you like??? The #1 thing I like in this game is that I can drive the kickass cars I've got no way in hell of affording.
My suggestion for the very first car is the Miata. It's decent right off the factory, and after a few races you can win prize cars with it. The other "first car" suggestions are good too... only I'd avoid that one little craptastic 4WD car/truck/thing with like a 10 "Power To Weight" ratio (which isn't P:W, but that's another story). I've played with it twice, and repressed the memory.
For a "Starter Car," the one you want to really get into the game with, I'd suggest the following:
FF:
Mitsubishi FTO GP. This is a sleek, FF car with lower-middle range power. It lacks the "get up and go" that some FR/MR/4WD's have, but that's partly because it's naturally aspirated and partly because it's FF. Seems most FF's are a bit on the weak side. But properly tuned, you can toss all your weight onto those front 2 tires like some kind of super-wheelbarrow. Kickass!
FR:
Mazda RX-7 (or -8 if you can win it, but then you wouldn't be a total n00b). These cars have much more power IMO than their stats show, and the rotary engine technology is amazing (and much older than you might think)! This is the first FR that I've actually liked driving, and the RX-8 was even better. As long as you avoid spinning out, this car is a (controllable) rocket out of a turn.
4WD:
Mitsubishi 3000 GT. Either model, the one without the dorky spoiler has like 3 less horsepower, which is negligible off the factory and totally insignificant when fully tuned. You do have to be careful--this sucker is heavy, nearly 2 tons, so when you start going one direction, it wants to keep going that way. This is good and bad in a turn. The bad is that it won't turn... at first. When that weight goes DOWN instead of SIDEWAYS, though, you get traction quickly. With 4WD, it's all the quicker to re-grip. If you also tune your suspension, you can jack the ride height all the way up and have something like 150mm with which to shift your car weight (that 1.8 tons!) from the rear to the front without it slamming back once your suspension's hit rock-bottom. Great for keeping front-wheel grip in turns. It's about $20k higher than the FTO, though, so you might go with that first.
Out of these, if you like to drift, but aren't too good at it yet, then take the 3000GT and learn--you'll be able to get yourself out of trouble quicker as you learn. If you like drifting
and are good at it, take the FTO. It may lack the power of a high-HP turbo monster, but it's FUN!!
Me, out of these, I like the 3000GT best. As a guy who totally sucks at racing games (my driving skills are more fine tuned towards getting good gas mileage, since I'm kinda' poor dude), I have to be able to get out of trouble quickly--the 4WD helps with that. Since I'm getting better, I've found that I can do a combination of grip racing and drift racing with this puppy, depending on the straightaway I'm on, the turn I'm facing, and the condition of my tires.
HEY!! WAKE UP!!
It wasn't
that boring, was it?
I think it's because in real life, these Silvia / 240SX's have become collector's items as millions of people have played Gran Turismo, hence a good condition Silvia / 240Sx now goes for a lot more in real life than it used to and this is reflected in the game.
