The priorities are as follow

depreciation (up to 2K per year)

consumption (up to 8l per 100km)

safety

comfort - nice to have

rest - not so important

The size is not too important too, as long as it fits the above criteria. The cars I mentioned above are the ones I looked into, but I am open for any good alternative.

I will cover at least 10K miles per year. Mainly extra urban.

Thank you for taking the time to reply

Actually the Polo is a good suggestion.

Others would be Golf, Audi A3 (but would be more than 1 year old for your budget); Skoda Octavia; Toyota Auris;

The VW/Audi would suffer less depreciation.

Of course , if size doesn't matter, a Mini Cooper auto might do the job.

On the Polo, there was a model change in 2009, later cars are better and are a real "mini Golf". Also there was a facelift on 10 reg versions to the current VW house style "smiley face" grille and headlamps.

1.4 DSG versions are well within your budget.

Re the Auris Hybrid - these engines do not return anything near the 65-70 MPG claimed. Most tests I've read see them achieving 50-55 in the real world, still good. They are less efficient at high speed motorway driving but are more efficient around town. Personally I would stick to the petrol engine.

You could go the Lexus/Mercedes route, but road tax, insurance, higher servicing costs, and increased fuel consumption would add to the overall running costs. Depreciation would still be a factor on a 4-5 year old version too.

skidpan, that's exactly what I was wondering. New models + end of year can put presure on dealers stuck with spare cars. Where did you get your Micra from? Is there something better than Drivethedeal?

72 dudes, I noticed that Polo and Yaris have similar depreciation rate. Would you consider Yaris (longer warranty) over Polo? What about Colt btw? Newer and cheaper than the previous two. What's your opinion on 207, 308, 508, C3, C4?