I can only comment realistically about the car I own, which is a 2006/55 plate Mazda3 1.6 petrol TS2 saloon. It goes and rives pretty well, not quick, but not bad, though you may want to check which tyres (if still on the originals) it is running on, as the original-fit Bridgestone ER30's are horrible (see the reviews of the 205/55 R16's on www.tyrereviews.co.uk/) and make the firm suspension even harder.

The facelift 2008 car is an improvement in terms of ride quality, but is less responsive (at least on the 1.6 petrol) as they downrated some models' engines to get into lower CO2 groups. Reliability is generally very good on the petrol models, less so on the diesels (see HJ review section) - all the problems to do with them and the ones with traction/stability control should hopefully have been fixed by now.

One major downside of having the saloon over the hatch is that the short-lipped boot (though larger in capacity at 400 lts to the hatch at ~350) of the saloon means that large cube-shaped boxes cannot fit through the boot opening or go through via the back doors, whereas the hatch could accomodate them by just taking off the parcel shelf then replacing it when the item is in the boot. Rear visibility for parking on the saloon is not that great either compared to the hatch, but the car is more rigid and handles better (according to HJ).

As an asside on the SX4, you should note that it is a Suzuki-Fiat car, so you may find that it is not as god quality or reliable as others in the Suzuki range. Suzukiis conesidered generally to be lower down the "pecking order" in terms of quality as Japanese car-makers go.

I would study HJ's reviews for all four cars (the Car-by-car review section) as well as our indiviual opinions, as your needs and driving style will play an important part. Given there's an apprecable difference in size between the Swift and the other cars you listed, you may want to review what you want out of a car - you may (or may not) need a large boot or room for 5 adults, so keep thinking abou that as well.

Best of luck.

I was fortunate that for the most part, my Mazda3 saloon "fit the bill" for its load-carrying capacity (I've only ever had one problem trying to fit a large box in the boot). Of course, I went for the saloon as well because its a far better looking car than the hatch (at least for the 2004-2008 model). Note that the saloon is less poular (probably becaus of the boot issue and no parcel shelf that can be removed), so you'll get a better deal on them when buying second-hand - of course, you'll get less when you sell it, but by then the difference will be considerably less than when newer.

I think an extended test drive would be in order for all your possible choices - when I was looking to buy mine, I also looked at the Honda Jazz and Civic 3dr (both the 2005/6 models, not the latest versions), and discovered that, for me at least, the best of the three was the Mazda (it did help that the Mazda was heavily discounted [even new ones] at car supermarkets [where I bought mine] due to over supply from Japan, whereas the Hondas weren't and cost about 10-20% more). Driving comfort made a lot of difference to me, for example the 3dr Civic had no foot rest (the weirdly placed gear stick was ok), which I found made my left leg uncomfortable when not using the clutch. The Jazz was fine, if a little slow (in comparison to the Mazda), but was actually more expensive for a lower-specced model (no discount) than the Mazda, which made my decision for me.

The best piece of advice I got was to not buy straight after seeing the cars - give it a week for the experience of looking around and driving them to sink in, keep looking on the web (including here and on other review sites) for review and information, including finding out about running costs (servicing costs/intervals [12.5k or one year for the Mazda @ £230 ave. at main dealers], insurance, replacements [tyres - maybe £100 difference between a set of 15in and 16-17in tyres], fuel, etc) - which could make a lot of difference in your annual outgoings (definitely for the Swift compared to the larger cars).

I also had an old Megane saloon and have yet to own anything as comfortable. But just a thought, why not look at a Nissan Qashqai which might tick all your boxes, particularly ride comfort and ease of access?

Looking at the replies to mm707 on 'Whether to buy a Toyota?', many replies are commenting on the reliability of the Toyota Avensis (I would look to the saloon) as very reliable and again up to 08/09 would be another possibility - I don't know how the Toyota Avensis 08 compares with Mazda 3 saloon 08 and the Renault Megane Saloon 08? Does anyone have any experience of the three cars?