Please recommend some "starter" figurines

We're looking to acquire a figurine to play with but we're kinda lost.

I only recently got into transformers, primarily through fanfic, so I don't have a lot of specific knowledge of the different IPs. My husband has only watched the Armada animated series and some of the Bay movies.

We would like to get a figure that turns into a car that can actually roll in altmode. Ideally an autobot, and one that doesn't look completely stupid in root mode. Durability would be a plus but is not essential. Not something where the "transformation" is only three steps long. Budget is not limitless but I'm willing to invest a little.

What character would you recommend? What companies, licenced or not, make the best figures?