Unfortunately you've picked two diesels (the Ford 1.6 TDCI and most Mazda diesels) which have shown themselves liable to expensive failure as the miles mount. This of course would cancel out any advantages of fuel economy.

The petrol versions of both these cars would be well worth a look, and you could add to the list other Japanese petrol cars like the Toyota Auris and Nissan Almera. There are lots of Focuses to choose from: my cousin in Edinburgh has an 8-year-old 1.6 Focus which has never missed a beat.

I'm very reluctant to recommend any diesel in your budget range: the 1.9 TDI fitted to VW Group cars is probably the best bet if your annual mileage justifies a diesel.

Edited by Avant on 28/02/2015 at 15:45

Balleballe (or anyone) - do you happen to know which Ford models use the engine shared with PSA and which the one shared with Mazda?

There have been a lot of problems with Mazda diesels but I think mainly the 2-litre engines.