My 16-year old daughter is a wheelchair user. She plans to take her driving test and start driving by the end of March 2013 (when the lease of our current Motability Ford Galaxy which we, as her parents, drive on her behalf, runs out). She needs to decide soon which replacement car to order and we would appreciate your advice.

She is dependent on her wheelchair for all access but is reasonably agile when it comes to hopping in and out of a car and she uses the normal driver's seat. She has had an RDAC driving assessment and requires an automatic with hand controls and a steering wheel knob. She's a little below average height when sitting down so a higher driving position might be helpful, but not if it makes getting her wheelchair in and out of the car more difficult. Ideally, when she's on her own, she wants a car where the driver's seat slides back far enough for her to lift the dismantled wheelchair frame and wheels between herself and the steering wheel into the front passenger's seat and footwell.

Her motoring will be predominantly low mileage trips. Her annual mileage is likely to be low too. Reliability is important, as dealing with a breakdown would be particularly difficult for her. Is there anything you would suggest?