One for the Road: A cheap car with a secure boot

The Seat Toledo is closely related to the booted VW Golf

Roger Briman is looking for a cheap car with a boot so his valuables are tucked away in a secure location...

A car for the head

That's the one disadvantage of hatchbacks: if someone breaks in, they have access to the whole car. Also, leave the parcel shelf off and everyone can see what's inside. Saloons aren't as popular as they used to be in the UK, except in the executive market.

I'll assume Roger doesn't want a BMW or Mercedes, but something down-to-earth. Such as a Seat Toledo, which is closely related to the booted VW Golf. A 2002 1.6 model with 85,000 miles with a year's MoT and six months' tax is £1,000 from a dealer.

A car for the heart

The Ford Focus saloon is a compact and very able saloon that is great to drive and surprisingly sporty. Being a Ford, it will be cheap to insure and run. It is just a question of which engine would be best for Roger.

Actually, before we get there, the majority of them were sold with top-of-the-range Ghia or LX specification, so Roger might as well aim for those. The 1.6 petrol is reliable and punchy, so the 2002 1.6 LX I saw advertised with 70,000 miles and two owners for £889 is perfect.

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