Recommend a small car for occasional use by our son and daughter?

I'd like to buy a small manual car, mainly for town use and a short commute, which will also be used occasionally by my 22-year-old daughter, and possibly by my 18-year-old son for learning. It must be easy to drive and in a low insurance group. I have up to £8000 to spend. What would you suggest? I also don't want to be considered to be "fronting" the insurance for her. If she were to have an accident, how do I show that I am the main driver, and is it the number of trips driven that counts or the mileage?

Asked on 18 February 2012 by BB, via email

Answered by Honest John
You need to be able to show that you were regularly using the car. A Hyundai i10 1.2 is probably your best bet. Some black box methods of getting lower insurance for youngsters at the end of this directory: www.honestjohn.co.uk/useful-websites/tax-insurance.../ (TinyURL: tinyurl.com/7b8dqr8) Our own Younger Driver section here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/young-drivers/
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