I have owned cheap Seagulls and Taylors, both quite nice, but my current fave is the new "formica" Martin for about $250. A small guitar with a nice voice, not up a fifth like the baby Taylors and such, made from laminate in Mexico, sturdy enough to take to the beach and small enough to put in the overhead compartment on an airplane, comes with a padded carry bag.
Someone knocked it off the bench this weekend at Sunnycamp and it sounded just like a guitar hitting the concrete floor, but when I picked it up, it had no dings and hadn't even changed pitch (didn't need to be retuned).
Blessings,
Barbara