A Jazz is more roomy than a Yaris but it's a little low-geared and frenetic at motorway speeds. My elder daughter is on her fourth 1.3 Yaris and all have been excellent.

Consider also the Fiesta - lots of them around, Skoda Fabia, Polo, Suzuki Swift and Mitsubishi Colt.

At £5,000 I'd suggest a petrol engine, as many diesels are liable to major failure as they get older. One exception seems to be the VW / Skoda 1.9 TDI, if not fitted with a diesel particulate filter.

Lots of assumptions I know, but what constitutes the above criteria best?

I was in exactly this position a couple of months ago when buying my last car - although at a smidgen over your budget at £5.5k.

I ended up getting a 5 year old Avensis 1.8 petrol with 40k on the clock from a Toyota dealer, so it came with 1 year of warranty and breakdown cover on top.

The Avensis is comfortable, well equipped and entirely suited to Motorway cruising, where it can acheive 45mpg at a steady 70mph. Very safe too, at launch it was the safest car EuroNCAP had ever tested.

Despite having good rear leg room and a massive boot, it is surprisingly compact, having exactly the same widith (down to the mm) as the Auris and not overly long either.

As for reliability, it has a simple VVTI engine with chain cam. No DPF, no DMF (I think) and no high pressure fuel system. This engine should last and last. The Toyota electronics appear relatively simple for a car of this era too, clearly an example of KISS in its design.

If I had to go smaller than I'd look at the Yaris given my experience thus far with this car.

Sorry everyone - I have taken the clippers to this thread and hidden all references to Panzers - a harmless joke in the first place but it led to some offensive repartee which is of no help to John who has asked the question. But I've left in Humph's cartoon because I like it and it's highly appropriate!