So what's your real preference - a hatch, or an estate?

The Octavia, even in hatch form, has a particularly big boot. And is mechanically similar to the Golf and Leon.

So what's your real preference - a hatch, or an estate?

The Octavia, even in hatch form, has a particularly big boot. And is mechanically similar to the Golf and Leon.

A hatchback preferably, or small estate..

Not sure that the Golf and Leon have particularly big boots, if that's a priority (with rear seats up) and you're used to a Passat estate.

Any of the Octavia hatch (or estate) or Focus or Astra estates should be okay - have a look in the car-by-car breakdown section for plus and minus points.

Your annual mileage is about where a diesel becomes useful, but it you do prefer a diesel, remember it has been a dodgy decade for them.

The Kia Ceed estate is roomy and its engine seems to be less troublesome than many, plus they came with a 7 year warranty.

Thanks, Honest John has also recommended the Kia C'eed and the Hyundai i3 1.6 diesel. I don't expect to have as much space as the Passat, but looked at the Fiesta and Ibiza and I need more space than they offered.

Yes, the boot in the Toledo or its sister car Skoda Rapid is very big. I just wasn't sure if you could get one for £8k yet.

Thanks, but not keen on the shape of the Toledo or Rapid. Have been recommended as a small estate, Peugeot 207 diesel, any feedback on this?

I need to get a large dog in from time to time and various items of horse equipment, hence the hatchback or estate requirement, but want something smaller than my Passat

From my experience of having owned a few hatchbacks in the household:

Golf: Not sure about the Mk6 or 7, but I always found the boot on a Golf slighlty smaller than other hatchbacks.

Civic: I owned a 2008 Civic, which had a really nice size boot. It didnt have a spare wheel, but in its place, the boot had extra storage area. The rear seats also had storage underneath them, and the bases flipped up. This was handy at adding more useful storage space without the faff of lowering the seat backs to increase boot space. I'm unsure what the new Civic is like, but it may be work checking out.

Mazda 3 (2011). The boot in our current Mazda 3 is quite big for a hatch. I find that it is quite deep compared to other hatches.

If you pay anything like 8 grand for a cruze under warranty or not you need your head testing.

While GM may for now provide back up, the resale value alone will be horrendous in years to come.