I was going to suggest the Captur as you've had good service from your Renault but was surprised how expensive they are, well out of your budget.

Edited by Xileno on 27/03/2021 at 17:47

For that tiny mileage I'd bypass the hybrid and go straight to electric, certainly if you have off street parking. £20k is enough to get a brand new Seat Mii electric (160 mile range), or a 2020 Renault Zoe 40kWh (235 mile range).

If you don't have off street parking, I'm not sure how much advantage there would be in getting a (self charge) hybrid over a smallish efficient ICE. But if you really want a hybrid (and I do get the appeal), I'd be going for a new Jazz. It has a much more spacious interior and boot than the new Yaris and can be had from under £17k new.

Personally l hate the rigmarole of buying a car and the attitude in some of the dealers makes me wonder if they are really in the right job!

Years ago I used to love the "sport" of visiting loads of dealers in an attempt to get the best deal but the nonsense spouted but many just made me realise that most were idiots (or crooks) that did not deserve my money. Then I tried Carfile.net back in 2013 after a dreadful experience trying to do a deal on a Seat Leon. E-mailed them Saturday pm (after finally giving up on the dealers), received a phone call from the broker (Jonathan) about 9.30 Monday, dealer rank before 10.00 to inform me he had exactly the stock car we wanted and he took details of my PX. Rang back at lunchtime with an offer which was about £3000 less than the local dealers wanted. Gave them a CC deposit over the phone, collected the car Friday am and paid finance off within the week. No hassle, no nonsense, no pressure. Had car serviced at our local dealer (one of those who failed to do a deal) and had no issues, in truth their service department was very good.

Thanks for all the advice,head v heart is very true,l would love to throw caution to the wind and buy a decent high seating crossover but with retirement looming l do worry about the costs of running a bigger car.

We are very happy with Mrs F's Peugeot 2008 1.2 puretech auto, which is only slightly bigger than the cars you mention. It now has a reliable powertrain, the Aisin EAT6 box is excellent, and there appear to be lots of two year old bargains to be had with minimal mileage, as they have just brought out a new model. £12,000 should buy you a good one (ours, new in Oct 2019, has just depreciated by nearly £5000...gulp!) and at your annual mileage it'll be ten years old before you get around a mere 50,000 miles on the clock.

But running a big car need not be more expensive if you choose wisely. If they are at the top of the range, it is likely that the manufacturer will have built it carefully with first class materials and labour. Like you, my car only does around 3000 miles a year, so seven years ago, with retirement approaching, I paid £12,000 for an eight year old Audi A8. It is now fifteen years old, and beyond oil, water, tyres and some front brake pads, the only garage costs have been sway bar drop links, and £225 for the air suspension compressor repair. (Had I been able to remove the front bumper myself, it would only have been £25! )