What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

Recommend a replacement for our Mazda 2 with a high driving position and easy access?

We have a 2003 Mazda 2 TS2, owned from new, with under 50,000 miles on the clock. We wish to change this for a similar car, petrol, not diesel. We require a high driving position, ease of access and ease of loading including easy folding of rear seats. We are OAPs and it shows. Fuel economy is important but would like decent acceleration, as most of our driving is done in France, often well loaded (the car, not us). Ideally the car would be a tad (1-inch) wider and 2/3 inches longer than our present car. Our budget is about £13,000 to include trade-in and we are looking for new or six months old maximum.

Asked on 10 February 2011 by RDR, Wareham

Answered by Honest John
Small: Hyundai i10, Chevrolet Spark, Suzuki Splash, Vauxhall Agila. A bit bigger: Hyundai ix20, KIA Venga, Nissan Note, Honda Jazz, Toyota Verso S.
Similar questions
My wife has driven Fiat Pandas since their re-launch in 2004. She likes the high driving position and manoeuvrability, but dislikes the harsh and noisy ride over uneven surfaces. Notwithstanding the shortcomings...
I own a Smart FourTwo auto. However, I now find that I need three passenger seats but also require a small car with high driver seating to assist easy entry and exit. Any suggestions please?
Just thought I'd drop you a line to say thank you for recommending the Suzuki Splash. My husband always reads your column and when it was time to change my beloved Fiesta we looked at the new Fiesta and...
Related models
Enjoyable and easy to drive. Easy to get in and out of. Decent engines. Good rear space. Good ride quality.
Neatly styled. Increased room and better performance than original Jazz. better to drive. Very versatile. CVT-7 returned in February 2011 replacing i-SHIFT. More reliable than first generation Jazz.
Cheap to own. All models have airc on, five seatbelts and flat folding rear seats. Rides and handles quite well for its size. 99g/km Blue model from early 2011.
Spacious back seats and wide-opening doors. Easy to drive and park. Good visibility. Decent boot capacity.
Easy to drive and manouevre into small spaces, roomy cabin with plenty of headroom in the back, some clever and practical features inside, economical dCi diesels, well built.
Small yet tall five-door city car. High seating position. Rear seats fold flat. Auto is 4-speed torque converter. Highest first time MoT pass rate of any car.
Surprisingly spacious small five-door city car. Makes best sense with 1.0 petrol engine. Much better than old Agila. Rebadged version of Suzuki Splash.
Cheap to run. Good visibility. Plenty of rear passenger and boot space. Better engines and transmissions in 2016.
Upright seats. Practical interior. Touch screen system with reversing camera and £500 optional sat nav.