Priuses, despite their complex mechanicals, seem to come out very well in reliability and satisfaction surveys, so thery are a good buy from that point of view.

They are at their best in town, but less good on the motorway where the petrol engine has to work hard and noisily to keep the car going at a reasonable pace. A good diesel would be better if your mileage is going to be on motorways - but you may struggle to find one within budget (if £7k is about what you want to pay) with automatic transmission and cruise control.

£7k seems a lot for a six-year-old Prius: I'm not sure what a normal price would be but have a look on Autotrader and see what the price range is.

There was a model upgrade around 2005 - identified by badgeson front wing under side indicators. Worth getting: suspension and seats.

£7k is 2005 model country so for a 2004 it's overpriced..