Which small car for a 17-year-old girl?

My 17 year old daughter is about to learn to drive. She will have a 25 mile round trip to college 3-4 times a week, plus outings for socialising. We live in rural North Wales so any car must be totally reliable.

She only needs a small car. What cars would you recommend we look at? How many years old is it safe to buy a car before it starts to become less reliable? What cost are we looking at for both a second hand and new small car?

Asked on 21 April 2014 by P.S.

Answered by Honest John
About £7,000 for a runout new Citroen C1, Peugeot 107 or Toyota Aygo. From about £8,000 for the new models, plus the Hyundai i10 and KIA Picanto.
Used, from around £5,000 for a 2012 or later that has the advantage of free annual tax.
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