There are plenty of SUV options too that have the high roof / seat combinatio, like Volvo's XC60, VW Tiguan, Ford Kuga, Vauxhall Mokka etc.

The vital thing is for you to be comfortable. People are all different shapes and sizes, so what is comfortable for you may not be for me. So the only thing is to try cars out for size.

The Jazz is a good suggestion, but some people don't find the seats suit them - in particular they want more support in the small of the back. I'd suggest you also look at the Ford C-Max: it has good supportive seats, and you don't have to climb either up or down to get in and out of it.

Both C-Max and Jazz have been around for many years, so there should be one to suit your budget, whatever it is.

Note that when your are looking (see others' suggestions), don't just assume if its got a comfortable seat/easy to get in/out that you'll like using it - the drive is just as important: some may have a firm ride (possibly because of the suspension setup OR the size of tyre & wheel combination) - low profile tyres and/or firm suspension can really jar your back, even if the car itself handles well. Its often better to buy a lower to mid-spec car than a high spec one (which mostly come with lower profile tyres and firmer suspension, whereby the ride only gets firmer as the car ages).

I would aim for a wheel and tyre combination of around 205 [width, mm] / 55 [profile height as a % of the width] R16 [diameter in inches of the wheel or better] - the most important number of the three is the second, the percentage profile height - try to stay in the range of 55 (min - better handling but still OK on ride quality) to 70 (max - softer ride [more air in the tyre to cushion the car] but at the expense of handling [not so bad if you're not a quick driver). The diameter of the wheel and width of tyre matters less, but a 'middling' size like the one I quoted are also plentiful and cheap to buy, compared to the lower profile ones (e.g. 225/45/R18) as well as riding far softer.

I would also make sure that the car handles reasonably, i.e. the ride isn't 'wallowy', whereby you're thrown around when cornering, which, again, doesn't do bad backs (like mine) any good whatsoever.

Realistically you need a compromise (its unlikely that you'll find a car that has a really smooth ride over bumps/potholes etc, but handles really well). As such, make sure you get a good, long, representative test drive in (preferably an hour, not just round the block), using the car on a variety of road types (including dual carriageway/motorway as well as urban roads), making sure you go down roads with poor surfaces and which have the speed humps, so you know what driving it under most conditions would be like. Also fit in a couple of reversing manouvres to make sure you can reasonably see all around without hurting your back more by having to turn your body/neck too much.

I would also spend a reasonable amount of time adjusting the seat and steering wheel before moving off to make sure your driving position is good and you're not stretching for anything, pedals and steering wheel included - you may need to stop during the test drive and re-adjust. I found when I first developed back problems over 15 years ago that other than too much time sitting in the office, the main cause was that my seat was one notch (0.5in) too far back - just adjusting that made a huge difference.

I'll see if I can dig out (if you feel it would be useful to you - let me know if you would like it) an ergonomic car seating guide a former colleague kindly copied for me when I developed back problems (it helped me enormously) - just a few pages I can scan and upload to a free viewing website that may help you.

Skoda Yeti?

Slightly elevated driving position and very easy to get in / out but external dimensions of the car not excessive and it's very easy to park