A pity the latest Focus is not exactly a looker.

Tell me a current family car that is a looker. Wife really liked the Mazda 3 until she sat in one, no space in the rear and could not see out the back. Style over function.

taking over the mantle of the Nissan Pulsar - just before they stopped selling them in the UK, I saw brokers selling mid-upper spec models with the 1.6T petrol engine for £12.5k and the 1.2T engine for about £11k.

We bought a Pulsar 1.6T for the wife early last year, cost us £12,000, what a bargain. Still love it despite it never getting good press, what do they know.

With the state pension coming to me next year I will have an increase in income that will enable me to replace the old Focus and a new Focus is obviously at the top of the list. Been and had a look and its a major improvement over the Mk 2 (lets forget the Mk 3 - to me it was a disaster). The 1.5 petrol Titanium has everything we need as standard, the best price I have seen so far is £19400 with 0% finance.

That is way more than we paid for the Pulsar but bargains seem to have currently disappeared.

The much hailed Skoda Scala is one to forget in many ways. Looks wise It is exactly the same as the now defunct and widely disliked Rabid and little more than a Fabia that has been on the photocopier at 110%. The designers must be the idlest in the world. As for price the best I have seen for a 1.5 TSi SE-L is £20600 (5.9% finance) and for a car that is promoted by the press as being a "cheap" Golf that is to me expensive. And lets not forget its fitted with the troublesome 1.5 TSi engine, who would buy one?

And whilst you can get cheap Tipos they are poverty spec with a 95 PS engine. The 120 PS versions are still under powered compared to newer models, even my old Focus has more than that, thinks its 125PS.