Forget diesel of any mileage. Go for a petrol and if a Ceed is the size and type of car you like and you can't find a petrol, expand a bit and look at Astra or Focus, plenty about, better value than a petrol Ceed and cheaper to run.

For that sort of mileage, I would avoid a diesel like the plague.

For child seats, and lifting children in and out, the Quashqai will make life a lot easier. Not having to bend down to put childern in, or having to lift them out, will make a hug difference to her (or your!) back.

Have a look on Autotrader: there must be plenty of petrol Ceeds and Qashqais around: but as suggested consider a Focus as well. There are lots of these about, and if you get one with a full service history it shouldn't give you trouble. My cousin in Edinburgh has had one for 8 years and it's never missed a beat. Or there's the Ford C-Max which is higher off the ground, like the Qashqai.

I'm not a fan of Vauxhalls but you could also look at the Zafira.

Edited by Avant on 29/01/2015 at 23:59

The early and mid 2010 Ceeds did not have DPF so should be fine for lower mileage drivers, though obviously this limits the choice. Forget asking the dealer whether the car has a dpf, they all seem clueless - I did some research and the easiest way to find out is that the models with DPF have a sticker on the driver's door indicating this.

I know as I bought one myself. After test driving the petrol and diesel Ceeds, there really was no comparision and I wasn't even particularly bothered about the economy; and even though I do a lowish mileage I felt it was worth choosing the diesel, and I have not been disappointed This was not from a financial point of view, one has got to enjoy driving the car, after all.

The costs of servicing the petrol and diesel Ceed don't vary that much; my last big service was something like 250 pounds, the service for my colleague at work who has a 1.4 Ceed of the same age cost 230 pounds or so.