My (t)rusty Focus is now not so trusty any more so Im in the market for a new motor. Ive got around a £3k budget, wife and 2 kids, commute to work about 30 miles a day and the usual pottering around.

Ive looked at Mazda 6 as they seem cheapish and could possibly get up to an 05 for the budget,

They are cheap as chips to run - I did about 450-500 miles per week in my 2005 Mazda 6 1.8 TS for two years - it cost me just under £4k in 2010 with 74k on the clock. It was comfortable and roomy. I never needed to do anything to it except the standard wiper blades/headlight bulb replacement you would do on any car. They are a nice drive too, and even though I only had the TS, it still had climate control and the BOSE stereo.

You will definitely fit all of your family stuff in it; I had the hatchback and the seats fold totally flat (handy for Ikea trips!). Only sold it to get my dream car, which is, incidentally, another Mazda.

For £3k you're looking at a 2006 2.0 litre with around 80k on the clock.

I can thoroughly recommend Saab 9-3. Your last chance to own one probably. I wrote about mine here:
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=99578