"if you have so much technical and driving experience of them I'm not really sure what you are asking for?"

Because driving and knowing the technical and servicing routine is a completely different experience to owning a car on a daily basis.

Just the same as a Trader will only know the quality of a car based on the quality of his stock (i.e. a trader who tries to make money on the cheap and leggy cars at auction will have a poor opinion of certain models, as opposed to one who exclusively buys well serviced/lower mileage ones).

"The flaws on the Mazda 2.2 diesel is quite likely to cost you thousands of pounds."

All I'm asking for is a bit of information on what things go wrong, so an informed judgement can be made. If you spend time on any forum, you'd never buy any second hand car if you assumed that what happens to one, happens to all.

Anyone looking to buy an old cheap diesel is asking for trouble. There is a huge amount of info available on the costs of running an old diesel, including on this site. Car owners forums and your own experience will tell you all you need to know.

It is your call. Good luck.

I'm not surprised you had no problems. 30k+ miles a year is exactly what diesels thrive on.

A 2010 with 70k has done far less than this and may be being sold due to issues which won't be fully revealed to a purchaser.

Speaking to my Subaru dealer last week he for one won't be sorry to see the back of the diesels due to the headaches they can cause for him and customers at 6-8 years old.

Again, appreciate the advice, but you seem to be flawed in thinking that my purchase budget is somehow all I can afford, and that I would be at the mercy of anyone else if any issues arose.

The reality is that a £10k example of what I'm after is (in this circumstance) in no better position, and will still be out of manufacturer's warranty, the same MY and the exact same car. Just a bit younger. I have no issues with high mileage,as with diesels it is, more often than not, a misnomer. Why spend twice the money on something that has had half the maintenance?

(an example here is the Volvo D5 - timing belt interval is 6y/108k. If you buy an example that is the wrong age/mileage, you'll have an extra £600+ to spend on essential maintenance)

The main thing I'm trying to avoid is a money pit. I had an R50 MINI after not enough research, and it was a constant battle to keep the thing roadworthy. The only thing I can find out so far about the Mazda 2.2 is related to the oil pickup strainer - something that can easily be prevented from causing an issue.

Volvo timing belt only books at 1.2 hours on the 5-cylinders so not a major issue. The auxiliary belt and tensioner is probably more important to keep on top of on those as there have been reports of early failures.

I'd forget the Mazda. Too much risk.

You don't say if you want manual or auto. Both the Ford/PSA 2.0 and Volvo 5-cylinder are well proven engines which don't have many inherent flaws. Neither are known for DPF issues although the pressure sensor pipes perish on the Ford (can be fixed with any 6mm silicon hose).

The DMF can be a weakness on the Ford but fairly easily checked.

Bear in mind the Kuga is based on the smaller, cheaper Focus platform and the XC60 on the Mondeo one so arguably sits in a class slightly below.

The autos on the Volvo can start to get a bit ragged after 100k miles.

The Volvo feels a more relaxed, comfort oriented expensive car to drive but the Kuga is possibly a bit more fun.

Both are decent cars, a lot is down to personal choice.