I want to replace my 2007 (07) Corsa 1.4 Design with about 46,000 miles on the clock. It's been OK, but is a bit unrefined and gutless, and numerous parts are starting to fail/wear. I'm looking for a bigger car but would like similar (or better) fuel economy (The Corsa averages about 38mpg).

I only do about 6-8K a year and don't use the car every day. Journeys are a mix of town driving (3-4 per week), longer A-road/motorway trips (2-3 per month) and long holiday drives (3-4 per year, including one to the continent). Having read your column for a while, I think it's safe to say that a diesel wouldn't suit my mostly short and infrequent journeys.

My budget is about £5-6K plus my Corsa as p/x (about £8-10K total?). I can't be doing with cars that break down, so it needs to be reliable and have a good owner-satisfaction score. I'm also concerned about the cost of tax, insurance and servicing - so keeping them to a similar level as my Corsa would also be nice.

At the moment, my top choices would be a previous-generation Prius or 1.8 Civic, but am open to suggestions. My Dad's had a couple of Mazda3 1.6, but the economy is not great. I'm not keen on the first generation i10 or Ce'ed nor the last generation Focus. I think a TSi Golf would be out of my price-range, but I'd consider an Octavia if it was well-equipped (SE or above).

Thanks
Alex Albans
Coventry