I had a Citroen C3 as a hire car last year. It was clearly set up for comfort ahead of responsiveness. Softer seats and softer suspension. Would happily buy one.

I much preferred it to a Seat Ibiza and Vauxhall Corsa (both entirely ok) also hired on an extended break last winter.

I suppose I should add that old superminis aren't the daftest idea. Because they're much lighter, they don't thud about nearly as much. Finding a good one for £8k would be tricky, though, and you should bear in mind that cars from the 70s and 80s weren't famed for rust protection, starting when you turned the key, safety, security etc etc

.... cars from the 70s and 80s weren't famed for rust protection, starting when you turned the key, safety, security ....

You don't need to go quite that far back. Pug 205s were well regarded for comfort on long trips, and the best ones were made about 1990 before cat converters came in. Sadly most have either disappeared or now cost silly money in the shape of a GTi - unless you find a tatty one and spend doing it up.

There is a 205 Gentry in Autotrader that I have looked at a few times. All the wonders of a 205, with a (detuned) GTi engine, auto transmission and (in this case, tatty) leather seats.

www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202203203755224?a...3

I travelled in an almost new Skoda Fabia back in 2016 that my father had hired. I still remember being very impressed by the ride quality.

We have owned a Fabia (bought new) since May 2018 and I can assure you its not that simple.

It depends on the spec and higher specs bring with them lower profile tyres which reduce ride comfort.

We bought the 110PS SE-L which has 16" wheels with 215 45 16 tyres as standard. It was that spec we test drove and it seemed perfectly OK for a smaller car but I have driven smoother. Since we wanted the 110 PS engine this was the spec we had to have, personally I would have preferred a higher profile tyre but it was not possible with that engine.

SE spec cars came as standard with 195 55 15 tyres/wheels and when we had one as a service loan car it had a noticeably better ride.

Poverty spec cars with non-turbo engines use 14" wheels with 185 65 14 tyres. On modern pot holed roads they probably have the best ride of the lot.

Just feel sorry for buyers of the Monte Carlo model. They came with 17" 40 profile tyres, totally pointless on a car with a max of 110 PS, Style over substance, they look nice thus must be better.

I can confirm both Skidpan's and BBD's observations by virtue of my own (old) 2005 build Mazda3 originally having 205/55 R16s fitted and changing the tyres and alloy wheels 4 years ago (due to replace the tyres anyway + corrosion/leakage issues with the then 12yo alloys) to 15in with 195/65 R15 tyres fitted.

I already knew that the ride was a good deal softer (but seemingly without noticeable penalty on handling) because a former workplace pool car was the same model but a lower-spec TS to my TS2 fitted with the same 15in tyres mine now has.

I don't regret doing this, especially as both (and especially) alloys and tyres are a reasonable amount cheaper, helped by both the old and new tyre sizes being amongst the most common around.

The 60 profile tyres BBD mentioned now fitted to the gen3 and 4 Mazda3s are a good compromise between my 16in OEMs and the higher profile 15in ones, having test driven a gen-3 car fitted with them in 2017. The ride on them was fine.

The current generation Mazda2 on the SE-L (Nav / +) spec (same for the base spec SE) comes shod as standard on 185/65 R15 tyres, which should give a decent ride. I drove one (an SE) as a courtesy car for a day a few years ago and I don't recall the ride being firm. Admitedly Mazdas tend to be on the firmer side as reagrds suspension.

The OP may need a VERY soft ride, so best for them to test drive the cars they narrow their list down to in order to see if they fit. Worth taking those test drives on a variety of roads, especially poorly surfaced ones, over speed humps, etc to really given the suspension and tyres a good test.

They may also find that like with mine, a car that otherwise meets their requirements could have the wheels and tyres changed (downsized) if the brakes can take them and the manufacturer allows it. They would need to inform their insurer, though it won't put up the premium, hopefully the opposite.