Putting the bare details into Auto Trader (performance, boot space, budget, age) brings up a range of cars, mainly Jags, Chrysler 300, Audi A6, BMW 5 and the like. All strike me as potentially very expensive in the event of repairs. There are a couple of Insignias that might be a potential bet as I agree old Vauxhalls are worth a punt.

I set the boot size at 500 litre plus. Lowering that a bit would bring Astras and other smaller cars into scope. If 3 door is acceptable then 2008-2012 Civic Type R would be a left field choice.

Joy though is a subjective and elusive quality. The most joyful car I ever had was a 1966 Renault 4 with around 45hp. There are a lot of lower powered cars that are good to drive and maybe more reliable. Suzuki Swift, Ford Focus (ironically as that’s the current car) but at the target budget and age all will have their risks.

If pushed I would agree the Saab suggestion. I had a 9-5 in 1999 but the 9-3 with a hatch is more practical. I know they are Vauxhalls underneath but they were good to drive and appeal to a demographic that might well have looked after them well. Good ones at this budget will be rare however.

My trawl missed this one as I set the age at 2008 or newer. I had the lower powered version as a company car (c170bhp). It was a fine car but not as fast or well equipped as this one which looks great in the exterior shots. However there is a four year gap in MoTs (longer than the COVID hiatus) and the interior seems a bit tired with all four seats looking more worn than I would expect from the declared miles. But no car of this age and budget will be perfect and if it’s within distance and appeals to the OP it’s worth a look.

As a model the 220 is worth considering even if this particular one proves not to be up to the mark.

As long as it gets up to temp I wouldn't have thought 15-20 miles a day would cause issue for most DPF cars. The Mondeo 2.0 TDCi would do it fine I would think.

Satisfaction is the word, Yess! The truth is, that my focus got an eml light on, but last time I went to the mechanic, he switched it off and it was back on the next day.

Try cleaning the throttle body - allegedly they can sometimes get a bit clogged which restricts the air flow at idle making the engine run rich and somehow affectng the EMS (no idea). Anyway, it worked for our old Focus.

A £700 car from two years ago is probably a £2000 car today.

And is there any difference in performance between ghia/LX/edge etc

For any specific engine the performance will be identical regardless of trim.

But for the money and age you are looking at getting a knackered car will be much easier than getting a good one.