Mondeo is a superb choice. I'll throw one in the ring, Peugeot 406 i had a saloon diesel and it was terrific, ran to very high miles and was bulletproof. The estate is a terrific cheap to buy, cheap to run big car too if you can get the HDi model, good economy, most will have very high miles now but a taxi firm near me has used them for about ten years now with 200k+ on them and still run like a dream. And mine even kept ploughing through three foot of snow without getting stuck once.

I loved that thing so much i am close to getting another one LOL (it was written off when somebody crashed into it)

Edited by jamie745 on 11/04/2011 at 15:49

I love the Ghia X Mondeo's, my father got one, a 1999 reg, when it was about a year old. Fantastic car. Shame theres not many of them around now which haven't been ragged or neglected.

somone mentioned volvo..

.don't look at a V40 estate...I have one, 2 car seats at the back is fine, but getting an adult in the mlddle, is something they will////and have complained about...only for very short trips is this worth doing. (3 proper belts across the middle of the v40)

s60 (saloon, or v70 might be an idea, but at that budget i'd stick to ford..)

Paul

v40 year 2000 (phase 1) 97,400 miles apart from standard serving great over the 8 years we've had it...aircon, exhaust,alternator,,,battery!!! all as factory fit 11 years ago...avarages 35mpg from a 2litre. grp10 insurance 2.0 xi model

v40 year 2004 phase 2. (the wifes car, 33,000) first was so good we drove 114 miles to bournemouth to but a another one.....hahaha...average 39mpg grp 9 insurance from a 1.8 sport model (115hp volvo engine not the 122hp mitsubishi engine, the later tends to suffer in the heavy volvo to quote a volvo mechanic i spoke to)

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I had an X plate Mondeo when they first brought the new model out and I admit it was nice and roomy but It was a bit of an electrical nightmare which has kind of put me off fords to be honest. As far as travelling reasonable distances go I was only planning on 25 miles at the most.

Does anyone know if 2001 Toyota Avensis are ok?

Good idea! When fuel prices are high, you can pick up a big petrol for buttons. If the annual mileage is low, the savings in purchase price more than make up for the poor fuel economy.