Having run an 8th generation Civic from 2007 to last year, and used it for professional driving instruction until 2009, forget the supposed restricted rear vision, it's more in the mind than in reality-you just get used to looking past the split rear window.

I'm not sure what you mean by "err on the larger side" It's not a car that feels "large".

You should go for another Corsa

the most reliable car in the vauxhall range, and good value for money.

stick to a petrol engine.

Edited by SLO76 on 15/04/2017 at 00:50

Mazda 2 is an excellent suggestion, but my daughter had four Toyota Yarises in a row and we found them much more 'responsive and nippy' than the road testers make out. They were all 1.3s and you need to go for this engine, not the 1.0. Reliability, as with all petrol Toyotas, is excellent.

Thanks all for the great suggestions. As an update, I had a test drive in both the Mazda 2 and 3. To be honest I'm leaning more towards the 3 now. I didn't find the 2 overly noisy, but I took some people with me who sat in the back, who said it was quite noisy there and somewhat cramped (but bearable). The 3 is obviously an entirely different class of car, but it just felt so much more refined in all aspects. Quieter, nicer interior, obviously more spacious. I don't particularly need the space at this moment in time, but my own initial impresion when getting into a 2 is "it is pretty compact in here", and I plan on keeping this car for a good 5+ years, so getting a slightly bigger car now would save the hassle of switching again in the near future.

Finding a 3 in this price range will take some luck though, so I will keep my options open.