Hi Tariq, you say that mpg is very important to you because of the distances you cover. What would you expect your annual mileage to be?

With that info, people here may be able to give better advice on choice of car and particularly whether you should choose a diesel or not.

Quite so.

Being obsessed with diesel MPG is a false economy(!) if your useage doesn't favour diesel. If you have DPF issues this will wipe out completely any fuel savings. Plus, if you don't cover a lot of miles, the savings will be small anyway.

Thanks for the reply’s. I’ve always had a diesel car from the get go (one of them things my dad drilled into me). I do a lot of miles with work and seeing the partner. Roughly 20,000 a year. So I do believe diesel would be best. Thanks guys

In that case, out of your three choices, assuming it would be a manual, i'd go for the Golf.

But, with £10k to spend on a diesel car to cover 20k miles per year, it would be the Honda Civic 1.6 i DTEC all day long for me. Your budget would get you into a 2017 car with less than 50k miles. They are reliable, refined, comfortable, spacious, quick enough and very efficient.

As for the Golf, if you are not put off by high miles (126k), the same money would get you into a 2016 GTD, but if you wanted an example with the same miles as the Honda, you'd have to go back to a 2011 car.

The Seat Leon is mechanically identical to the Golf, but being less 'desirable', is cheaper. So, you could get a 2016 car with the same engine as the Golf, with less than 50k miles, for your budget.

With respect to your father, as said, a diesel only makes sense if you do the miles to justify it, which you do. But if you only do short journeys, buying a diesel, certainly a complex modern diesel with all the emissions equipment, could turn out to be a very expensive liability. Old diesels, which is probably where your father is coming from, well that is totally different, there are many examples of which could easily and accurately be described as indestructable!.

Thanks for the advise. Best thing is I’m in no rush. So I appreciate all the advise and I can take my time to find the right car for myself. I’m open minded. Although I just don’t like the look of the civic. My dad owns one believe it or not. It’s just not my type of car. Been looking more into it. What’s people’s thoughts on the 1.5 Diesel engine Ford Focus. I’ve seen the ST line model with good mileage and around the 15-16 plate for the price I’m looking for. Didn’t know if that would maybe be a suggestion from anyone?

The 1.5 diesel engine in the Focus is a derivative of the previous 1.6 diesel. That engine had a somewhat chequered reputation for reliability. Maybe not deservedly, but because of what i have discovered about the old 1.6, i'd be reluctant to go for the 1.5 unless buying new and mainaining it diligently.

For me, 2nd choice after the Civic would be the Kia Ceed. £10k would get you into either a lower spec 2018 car or a high spec 2017 car (both use the same 134bhp 1.6 diesel). Either way, assuming the car has full dealer history, you will have the balance of Kia's 7 year warranty.