Four years ago we were looking for the same sort of car, and the Arona was on our short list. We didn't like it at all and eventually went for a last of the line old style Peugeot 2008 at a bargain price of £17,000. Great car, no regrets. There are plenty of bargains around for this old shape model - just avoid any pre 2018 ones as they might have had cambelt issues.

Here's one.....

www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202311023570297?s...a

If you can afford it go for the nippy 130hp variant with the EAT6 box (a must in my view - far better than the manual box).

I'd add the Mazda CX-3 to the list, given its similar size-wise to the Arona, except for the boot which is smaller, at about about 10% less on the lower and mid spec SE and SE-L (Nav) at 360L, but much smaller on the Sport / 4WD variants at 287L because part of the underboot are has some of the in-car entertainment system in it or part is taken up by the 4WD shaft.

Excellent handling for that sort of car, not quick (0-60 in 9sec for the manual, 9.9sec for the [smooth] torque converter auto in 2L petrol [no turbo] format) but perfectly fine. Sort of in-between the performance of the Arona in 1.0 petrol (110PS spec engine) and the 1.5EVO (150PS).

The best value for money spec is the SE-L or SE-L Nav (Plus) which gets a decent amount of kit, but is shod on sensible 16in tyres to give a decent ride, but which do not harm the handling. The Sport models are ok, but personally I felt the ride on the 18in tyres a bit too firm for my liking, especially as the car ages and the suspension wears.

The downside is that punters are aware of this and SE-L and similar variants are difficult to come by compared to the Sport variants, and any of the diesel-engined models, which I'd avoid because Mazda diesels have had issues over the years (the short-lived 1.8TD wasn't around long enough of likely bought in sufficient numbers to know whether they'd improved their design on the reliability front).

As shown by other posts, you probably have a good few cars to look at as there is a decent selection around, although in the current climate of high second hand prices, you may have to either consider an older car than you'd like or downgrade the trim level to the minimum you need only, except for the engine.

Best of luck.

Edited by Engineer Andy on 03/12/2023 at 15:26

We've got a 2018 1.5 FR, originally my company car (followed an A3), which we bought when the company and I went our separate ways. We like it - the FR might have firmer suspension, but we think it's comfortable, and good in the bendy bits. That spec gets you climate, Sat nav + Android Auto, LEDs and reversing sensors.

The 1.5 is decently quick (for us) but might take it out of your budget; the 1.0 is obviously slower but is supposed to be a nice unit. Only reliability issue has been the recent turbo hose noise, which was fixed free of charge and didn't cause any time off the road. Agree about the demisting being poor, and it's a bit plasticky inside.

However, I haven't driven any other SUVs, mini or otherwise, so haven't got anything to compare it with.

Edited by maz64 on 05/12/2023 at 12:30