The other idea which had come to mind was a 3 year old petrol Lexus IS. That would be £16k for one with c. 40k miles on it. Leather interior.

The Prius worries me because of the cost of replacement batteries. We don't drive in central London - tend to do runs around the Wembley/Harrow area. I'm also not convinced re the boot size.

An estate is too big.

The Tino is the pre-face lift version i.e. no camera although we have aftermarket parking sensors. I'd want any replacement.

I've driven a Qashqai as a hire car in Ireland and loved it - but I don't think its sufficiently premium enough for the boss.... She's just had a Clio while her i10 had its immobiliser fixed under warranty and was going on about the wretched Renault.

I'm not an engineer but is up to me to take an engineering view. If the boss had had her way we would have bought a second hand Scenic in 2006 and not the Tino. And I would have regretted that. The Tino has been excellent. Its has proper Nissan engineering before the French got their hands on the company. The interior is bland though.

We have tried re-gassing it. No dice.

I suspect the compressor is shagged...

The Auris Tourer has the same external dimensions as the Tino. Not sure if the boss would go for it, but it does look practical...

Looking on autotrader, how do I differentiate the proper 4WD vehicles from the switchable ones? I can see 4 x 2 - but not 4x4!

During the life of the next vehicle I expect to do university runs.

Don't underestimate the amount of space you need for university runs! And if your sprog is in halls, they may need to empty and refill their rooms more than once a year. You might need at least a large hatchback, or one of the SUVs that have been suggested such as the Qashqai.

My mum carted my sister's stuff up to uni halls in a Toyota Aygo, this past autumn.

Endorse Davey's suggestions.

We have two Berlingos. Hers is current model, HDi 115 in XTR trim while mine is previous (Mk2) 1.9 IDI. Both will swallow all a student brings home at end of year - far more than the took at start.

Current model will even take bikes upright and stowed fore/aft provided seats are removed. One seat removed allows one bike but take out two seats and three bikes are possible.

The later model has both DMF and DPF but if you treat them right there's nothing to be too bothered about.

The French seem to drive little else, and I'm not aware of their roads being littered with ex-cars.

We build myths IMHO, built up on the back on tiny differences in the likes of JD Power surveys etc.

Good, regular servicing is likely to produce a much larger variation in statistics than whether its a Vorsprung etc or a Pug.