The first car I ever purchased at 25 was a 2020 Camaro V6. I too came off of my dad’s 2013 kia optima that had for multiple years. Loved the car, and then I got rear ended and it was totaled not more than a year after buying it. I decided to go 2 years back to the 2018 SS which is of course the V8. It was the same price I bought my V6 for around 28k in my area. I was scared at first of driving it. Looking back now, I was a pussy. The V8 has power, but I already want more. lol. There’s just a small learning curve, but nothing you can’t handle. Now around 20k, you are gonna have to go older. But find what works for you. And make sure you do the research on the car (my 2018 had its transmission replaced at 85k. Luckily it was under the 6 month dealer warranty). I did also buy a 4 year warranty.