Please help me find a new car!!!

[Drivingish]

I know so little about cars that I'm driving myself crazy with this. I've only had one car since passing my test as I passed quite late in life - an old Renault Clio which has been fab, think I got lucky and it hasn't needed any major work at all but it's 3dr and I really really need a 5dr now so unfortunately need to replace it.

I need an automatic car as I only passed on automatic, a hatchback with good fuel economy and 5dr but beyond that I'm clueless! I can afford about £2.5k outright so I don't know whether to go for something cheap and cheerful again and hope it doesn't need a lot of repairs or spend more and get something newer on finance or get something brand new on PCP?

Any ideas gratefully received, I haven't got a clue which way to go or which make/model to look at.

Toyota is renowned for reliability. Citroen is apparently based on the same technology and also reliable.
E.g Toyota Aygo.

On Auto Trader you can select 50mpg+ and lowest insurance bracket, also CO2 emissions which will affect road tax. The search function is really good.

Peugeot 108 is a very safe car (see european safety tests). Suzuki Celerio is spacious, basic inside.

Those are the cheapest cars I've found that met my (similar) criteria.

Also very safe but slightly pricier are the Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris Hybrid.

I should add safety results refer to specific models so always worth checking.

I’ve got an automatic Toyota Yaris hybrid and totally love it.

Oh sorry I'm not sure if the ones I mentioned are 5 door!

I have a Suzuki celerio. Surprisingly spacious. Cheap to run and parts. They are very basic though. Mines 2017 yet the back windows are roll down 😁