I started off in the old sl300 merc. But didnt really ever start for real so..
But.. BMW I Concept, with 474 bhp works very well for me when i decidet to take it up for real.. ( Buy everything, except for turbo. will give it 459, and that increases to 474 ofc. )
I never understood how 250 bhp wud be enough if ur driving anything but Tsukuba. But ok.. Anyways, a good idea is also to go and make your own track, with the go-kart tokyo bay theme, just put 5 road width, and you'll be fine. Create some corners that requires that u use all the different techniques and such ofc.
As to tuning, Medium-hard suspension with hard anti roll bars, and around 4 / 3 camber. ( Front/rear ), and fairly quickly reacting LSD that dont allow a huge difference, is a good start.. Also, if you find the car reacts too quickly in some way, try raising the toe angle, to + .. So fx. if you find it "jumps" back when you try to straighten it up, increase it on front.
Personally i believe this is a better way to start, rather than having to learn 3-4 different setups, as "steps" .. Take the challenge from the beginning, and learn what you need/want to do, in the end. Not what "later can get you further towards it"
.. And this car seems to be able to drift "all" tracks with the right setup, while not been completely insane.
I hope this helps.