Providing you take the time to look out a good 'un I think the 944 makes an excellent first time car. In fact, I've never driven anything else since I passed my test er ... a long time ago.
I'd advise an autobox - it's no less fun to drive (I've had two) but it is more likely to have been owned by a mature driver and less likely to have been caned and therefore the engine is likely to be in better shape. They're more forgiving to new drivers too. As for longevity - my early 1985 autoshift had 368,000 miles on the clock and didn't have a hint of smoke oil or leaky oil problems. She'd have gone on for another 100,000 miles or so if a drunk driver hadn't stuffed his crappy Ford into it head on. Not being dead I can swear to their robustness in a crisis too.
Of course, if she's planning on cruising with the girls in it the two in the back seat will need to be slim and pretty short.
