I am about to buy my first car (22 years after passing my test) and need a family car which is both reliable and economical. Not particularly bothered about looks/gadgets/status symbols.

Need a bit of space for the kids and some decent storage space. Won't be doing particularly long journeys but want to keep my fuel costs down and not be a regular visitor to the mechanic either. Not buying new but probably don't want to go much older than 4 or 5 years.