You should get someone recommending the Skoda Octavia shortly - I've just bought a 1.9 Ambiente Estate Tdi and I'm very impressed so far. Only had it a couple of weeks though, like yourself I'm using it as a family car and taking it camping to South of France this summer. Comes between Focus and Mondeo size wise, diesels should do 55 mpg and beyond if driven with care.

Edited by johnny on 28/05/2010 at 14:23

Go for a petrol unless your annual mileage is over 15,000: for your budget you're looking for an age of car where modern dlesels can need very expensive repairs. That said, there seem to be fewer problems with Ford diesel and the VW/Skoda 1.9 TDI.

Add the Octavia and possibly Honda Accord to your shortlist and then go for any of those that has a full service history and appears to have been well looked after.

I have a 2.0 2004 Subaru Legacy Estate. It replaced an 09 plate 1.8 TFSI A3 (I get the train to work now) which in turn replaced an 05 plate Saab 9-3 diesel saloon.

It has almost 80 k miles up, has a full history and 2 owners - one the supplying garage.

It is a more engaging car to drive than either of the previous, even if in 2 litre non turbo it is not as quick.

The boot is a good size, this afternoon I have taken 17 rolls of turf home from the DIY store as well as the Mrs and the dog. With the back seats down it is huge.

The seats are comfy and the dash well laid out - if a little dated looking in places (the 80's style computer in the centre console is a throwback). The build quality is very good, the interior has one rattle on the the a pillar on a (very) bad road surface. The Saab was like infant school children with tambourines on a bad road.

The Saab seats were more comfortable (the Audis weren't). The Audi dash/interior was lovely and wasn't dated in places.

The engine is very smooth and, if you like that sort of thing, makes a lovely noise when you press the go pedal.

The Saab gave me about 50 MPG over the 70k miles I had it, on one occasion I managed 59.9. The Audi computer showed 39.9MPG over the 6k miles I owned the car but in the last 2k it was giving closer to 43 and I got 52.9 on a 50 miles round trip at a constant 60. The Subaru has shown 39.9 MPG on a air-con off run from Cambridge to Norwich and back driving like a saint, and gets 35-37 if slightly less careful. It is showing 34.4 MPG over the 6k miles I have done in the car. These are all trip computer figures (so with speedo's under and computers over - I am sure they are useful indicatives).

It is permanent all wheel drive, and this has been very useful in the recent winter and because we live closely surrounded by fields so roads get muddy when wet.

I like the fact the car is rare - there are no other Legacy Estates in my small town/big village. It makes the car more interesting

I care less about the Legacy than the previous two cars as it has a few scuffs and marks compared to the other two which I was anal about looking after and keeping nice, but each time I drive the car I feel more impressed at its capabilities and more confident of its longevity - especially compared to the Saab. I would recommend one but not in blue (as it marks easily and looks a bit dated compared to other colours) and only if you have taken a very careful look at the running costs, which are much higher servicing and parts wise than a more ordinary car.