What's a good reliable estate on a £1500 budget?

I need to buy a cheap estate car to transport my two dogs. I have a budget of £1500 max ideally and will only do about 3000 miles a year. What do you recommend for reliability and ideally, cheap road tax?

What reliable, economical car can I get for £1500?

I have a budget of £1500 for a reliable, economical car. I have a round trip of 36, mostly motorway, miles each day for work. Which cars would you recommend?

Best £1500 slogger

Change of circumstance means I need a reliable car for a 100 mile daily commute. It's asking a lot, but it needs to be 'smart' as this a new exec level role. Want something that's not out of its depth...