Just can't decide...best family car for up to £11,000?

[chummymummy7]

Having written off my beloved Honda Civic, I now have a fresh slate and up to £11,000 to spend on a family car. I'm umm-ing and ahh-ing between a VW Golf/Passat/Polo, Nissan QashQai, Kia Cee'd or Skoda Octavia. I will be buying a used car but want as new/low mileage a car as possible.

I have two kids (1 and 3) so safety is very important. We don't have dogs/bikes so don't need masses of space beyond comfort, occasional shopping + double buggy needs. My head is saying to go with the Skoda (excellent reviews, economical, 'grown-up' decision), but my heart wants something a bit funkier, so probably the QashQai.

It needs to be easy to park as we don't have a drive and space is sometimes scarce on the road.

Do any on my list fit the bill perfectly, or have I missed something glaringly obvious? While I don't want to rush the decision, I am now car-less and need to get moving with a plan.

Any advice hugely appreciated. TIA.

We hired a nissan quashqui (sp?) this summer and it has a cool camera at the back which shows up on the sat nav screen when in reverse which helps with parking. So even I could do it despite the fact that it is a tank.

It was v good driving, esp on motorways, so if you use motorways a lot it is great.

But if you live on a narrow road, on a hill, or are short it is crap. Handbrake didn't work (brand new car and pretty reputable hire company so it wasn't that) and wasn't easy to reach when seat was far enough forward for someone less than 5'6''.

Oh, and it fit five adults comfortably, and was way more fuel efficient than we thought it would be (we had hired a super mini three door to cut down on fuel costs and the first thought was how fuckign much will this cost to push down the motorway).

We spent £80 on fuel for 5 day trip 150 miles away and back plus trips. I think it was over 55mpg.

The boot is a bit crap though. I would try fitting a buggy in it first. I wouldn't be surprised if a travel mcclaren didn't fit. Sorry. Can you do that?

Last post I promise: it was a diesel.

In the end I went for another Honda Civic...this time a 2010 1.4 vtec. I was swung by the safety features (full curtain airbags 5? crash rating), plus it was v low milage, high spec and came in at under £10k from a reputable dealer. fuel efficient and cheaper to insure/tax due to smaller engine. ..only downside imo is the rear spoiler and lack of rear wipers. a lovely drive and humungous boot.

looked at the skoda octavia and fabia, but neither felt quite right...and the qashqai I found too tank like for me (I'm a shorty!).

Thanks again for your tips