One for the Road: A five-door family runabout

Ellie James wants a town runabout, needs five doors because of her children, and has £2,000 to spend. She is looking at superminis.

A car for the head

Ellie can look at whatever she wants, but space is a priority when children are involved and I would quite like her to look at something a bit bigger. Especially as she does venture out of town and on to the open road. A Ford Focus is nice to drive, reasonably spacious and great on longer journeys. And because there are lots around, they are decent value, too. I'd tell Ellie to buy petrol and a 1.6 Zetec with air conditioning. I found a 2005 example with less than 90,000 miles on the clock and MOT for her budget.

A car for the heart

This isn't about having a lovable car, but sometimes it does help to have a quality one, so it can cope better with the rough and tumble of family life. I would recommend a well-finished small family car such as the Honda Civic (above). It is an old model but a practical and comfortable one that won't break down. I stumbled across the perfect Civic in the shape of a 2002 1.4i with less than 60,000 miles and a full service history from a Honda dealer. This car seemed to be ready for family work.

Looking to buy?

Email James Ruppert at onefortheroad@independent.co.uk, giving your age, address and phone number, details of the type of vehicle in which you are interested, and your budget