In reply to ksjs: Some excellent posts - thanks people. Will have a proper look / reply later but for now a bit more info to inform discussion:
- mileage is under 10k pa (maybe 7k?)
- driving is a mix of urban, country roads and motorway. At a guess I'd say 20% was urban and / or slower country roads, 40% was decent country roads i.e. where you can do 50 - 60 but with occasional stops and 40% was motorway
- the vehicle rarely carries more than 1 person (me) and is nearly always unloaded except for 2 bouldering mats
- I recognise that ultimately the savings may be relatively small in the scheme of things (especially given my low annual mileage) but alongside reduced road tax we're maybe talking around £500 annual savings so, for me, worth serious consideration
- budget is £3,000 but ideally less
- there is something about a small vehicle that appeals simply for the fact that it is small. I can't explain this easily but it's something to do with perceived compactness, fitness for purpose and frugality. This has value / utility for me, I'm willing to pay for that and it makes me discount even small family vehicles in favour of the likes of Ka, Polo, Micra, Peugeot 1007 etc