For that sort of mileage, a diesel is still first choice.
I'd seriously suggest something like a BMW 118d 5 door hatch, manual gearbox, in SE spec. Both myself and 'skidpan' - another contributor on here - have run them in the past for a number of years. 50+mpg, perfectly comfortable on long runs (I did 450 miles in a day in mine once), reasonable space, and (in my case at least) 100% reliable over 4 years. I believe skidpan had the same reliability, I'n sure he'll post on here at some point.
If you do get one, the only things I'd recommend are : ignore the stupid long service schedule, and get an oil/filter change carried out every 10k miles, and make sure it is on 16 or 17" wheels - nothing larger.
Agree with the above except for mpg. Had ours for 5 1/2 years and over that time it averaged 48 mpg calculated. The dash said 53 mpg but it lied.
Not that good for boot space or for rear legroom and rear access, easy enough to check if they suit.
At the time we bought it there was nothing to tough it for performance or value but now there are better cars out there for less money. I replaced the BMW with a Seat Leon 1.4 TSI petrol. It has averaged a true calculated 45 mpg so far, not much less than the BMW and closer when you consider that petrol has been cheaper than diesel for several years until the recent blip.
With your mileage I would consider the Leon 2.0 150 PS diesel. Make sure you get the Mk 3 which was sold from about March 2013 onwards, the earlier cars were poor in comparison. You should get mid 50's mpg and the compared to the BMW it is much better for boot and rear seat space, the ride is much better also.
With VW's current issues there are probably plenty on dealers forecourts that they would be happy to shift at good prices and any issues with the NOX will be fixed free later.
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