I'd suggest petrol - I have a Kia Ceed 1.6 GDI automatic. Shame you can't buy petrol auto Ceed anymore.

A 2014 Kia will have still 4 years warranty left while others will be out of warranty end 2017.

I don't know who is telling you Ford's fall apart, but in my experience, and i have had a few, that is not the case at all. OK the materials used may not have the soft touch showroom appeal of those in an Audi, but if you are buying a car with your own money and plan to keep it a while, that is not important. Longevity on the other hand, is important. By the way, i use a 2006 Ford Transit Connect for my work, a van which used a selection of mechanical components and interior trim from the focus and mondeo of the same age. I have had it for over 7.5 years now and have taken the mileage from 60k to 133k. It has had no major issues despite the constant stop start driving i do, and everything still works apart from the heated windscreen.

Regarding the leon, do you not think it important that the interior of a car should not attract your attention with lots of distractions and bling, so you concentrate on driving?.

When I was looking for a car back earlier in the year, amongst many I looked at the current version Focus, Ceed (presumably soon to be replaced with a a new version as its now 5 years old), previous version i30 (essentially the same as the Ceed underneath - OP - if you're considering the Ceed, consider the i30) as well as the Mazda3 (direct replacement).

Personally speaking, I though that the Focus interior, and especially the dash, looked rather low-rent (lots of cheap-looking hard grey plastics and layout - I much prefer the Focus mk2 & 2.5 interior/dash) compared to the others I looked at. I was quite impressed with both the Ceed and i30 interior for both fit and fish and comfort. Again, personally speaking, I don't think the Focus interior (and especially the dash) is up to the same standard and styling of the Mondeo, which I do like (both current and previous version). I would agree with bbd in that just because a manufacturer has not used expensive soft-touch plastics that it isn't well put together and is long-lasting.

I wasn't impressed with the look and materials used of the Civic interior - in many respects its an excellent long-term buy, especially factoring in reliability and the engines but the interior looks just weren't to my liking and, compared to a similar specced Mazda3 or Ceed/i30, they are much more expensive to buy and run, especially if you intend to keep it a long time (lower depreciation means nothing if you keep it until its 10+ years old as the difference will be only a few £000 at best, whilst the new price is often £2k-3k more and second hand prices [up to 5 years old] £1k - £2k more in my experience.

To the OP

For the aforementioned 'reliable Far Eastern' makes, the choice will probably come down to:

1. The driving experience (get a good long test drive on a variety of roads and speeds - try your 'to work' route or other regularly used roads when empty and a bit busier), including comfort (get the seat/driving position as best you can before the test drive and take your time - many people don't do this and regret it, then having [at great expense] to change cars within a month or two). This will include selecting the car with the correct wheel/tyre combination and suspension set up - some people don't mind the 18in low (40) profile tyres, but most people don't, or at least won't after a few months once a newer car is 'worn in' in the suspension dept. I would look at models with 15in (60 - 75 profile) or 16in (55 to 65 profile) tyres. Not only do they still grip the road very well (unless you're on a track day or driving at the limit, you can't really tell the difference with an 18in version), they give a few more mpg, last much longer and are often between 50-67% of the price to replace, as well as being far more comfortable on our poor roads. Cheack on online tyre websites for the specific tyres on these cars in case they are 'odd' sizes and are more expensive - the latest Mazda3 has less common 205/60R16s (205/55R16 is far more common) on all models except the Sport (18in) and so are much nearer the price of those on the Sport model.
2. The dealership experience. See if you can find out any reviews (on this website - Good Garage Guide, and on others, e.g. websites for specific cars [e.g. there's one for the Mazda3 in the UK which I'm a member of, where dealerships are reviewed]) as well as having a good look around, and asking about prices for annual servicing (not just year 1, but ask for each year from 1 - 6 [some offer 'reduced price servicing' for older cars, but they don't do so much, some may do geneuinely good deals for fixed price servicing, but check the prices and what isn't covered]) for the cars you're looking at (they can vary quite a bit [Hondas aren't cheap to service at main dealerships, but they probably are better than the others, who aren't bad] at all, and can vary from one area to another even for the same make) and common parts replacements you may need if you keep it for 5+ years (brake pads/discs, clutch etc). The closest dealership may not be the cheapest, and one only another 10-15 miles away may be considerably cheaper due to competition with other make or indie dealerships. Worth considering if they are as good on customer service, especially if it is 'on the way' or in the town/city you work in.
3. Cost of ownership. Obviously its no good buying a cheap to buy and run car that you hate using (see above), but make sure you can afford to run it, not just in terms of any loan payments, but fuel, insurance (get quotes via the screenscraper websites for all variants you're looking at once you've narrowed them down a bit), VED (not that if you did buy a brand new or nearly near car registered after April this year, it could cost £100 - £145 more than a car registered in the 3-5 years beforehand, as the VED bands have changed for new cars and isn't kind to the majority of them) and parts replacements (often overlooked - see reviews, including owners reviews and websites for how often certain parts need replacement - with your judgement as to how you drive compared to those reviewing, noting that certain parts like brakes [as I've found out] don't like sitting around not being used]). If you're only going to keep the car until its 5 years old, then depreciation is a factor; over 7-10 years old, much less so as described above.

Worth considering the various VAG cars (Golf, Leon [try and get past the interior, its not so bad!] and Octavia) with the 1.4TSi (122bhp or if you can afford it, the 140bhp or later 150bhp ACT [sweet] versions) engines (not the older 'twin charger 160bhp versions which are very unreliable) which offer nearer-to-diesel like mpg and very good performance. Of those you spoke of originally, the Civic is the best in real life (slightly) for mpg (see HJ's Real mpg section) for its performance. I must admit thinking that the current Mazda3 2.0 (120PS) was not as quick (0-60 in 8.9sec) as I had hoped or significantly nippier in the real world as my existing 1.6 (non-turbo petrol) version. To me, the non-turbo Ceeds and i30s aren't particular swift in comparison - OK but nothing special in terms of performance. The latest i30 has a 1.4T petrol engine which probably will be better, but it may be out of your price range.

I think the newer ones are only belt driven (avoid the previously dodgy chains they had lots of problems with) if you can find a good'un for a reasonable price at a good dealership. The Octavia may be a bit large, but if that isn't a problem then the huge boot will be a big plus if your trips to the country need a good sized boot (also on the Civic). Again, as above, make sure you get the right spec level for both (and especially) comfort and other considerations - the higher spec 140/150bhp TSi cars may come on lower profile tyres and firmer suspension than the 122bhp versions, though I think the SE-spec Octavia is on ordinary tyres.

Best of luck (sorry to drone on a bit - got into a writing groove!).

PS. Make sure whatever you get at least has a space-saver spare - some makes, including Mazda, are NOT offering new cars with them as standard and prospective buyers HAVE to ask for them as optional extras or source them independently. The included 'tube of goo' isn't worth it. Mazda charge (in my opinion) a rip-off £395 for the prviledge, other much less. You may be lucky if they do have one fitted (make sure its the correct size) or it may be a 'negotiating point' for the dealer to fit one to sweeten the deal (don't take any bull from the salesperson that the tube of goo is fine). Not sure whether its best to bring this up before after the price haggling - SLO can probably answer that given his experience in dealerships.