A toyota corolla 1.4 or 1.6, or a mazda 3 1.6 should fit the bill.

Petrol probably as an old diesel may save you a few quid a week in fuel but one big bill and you're toast. I'd go for a 1.6 petrol Focus because they're a great drive and good value at the price you're looking at. Lots about in your price range so you can be fussy about condition, mileage, full service history and maybe even colour. As with most petrol engines a 2 litre will go bit better but use quite a bit more fuel and cost a lot more to tax. The 1.6 is decent enough on fuel, generally reliable and if they go wrong, cheap to fix and service with lots of decent independents to do it. If you favour potential reliability over quality of drive look to the east for slightly older Honda Civic, Mazda 3, Toyota Corolla, Mitsubishi Colt, Lancer etc etc...

Edited by oldtoffee on 16/11/2012 at 15:56