Ford? Hyundai? I'm going car blind

[MeganChips]

Or something else?

I'm looking to get rid of my hated, bag of bones Vectra and have been looking around. I want something about 3 years old with mileage under 40k, obviously the lower the better. Petrol is preferred as we do less than 8k a year and DH is a diesel wimp, he always stalls them. He can be overuled on that though. I want a big boot, reliability and a bit of pull.

I have (I think!) narrowed it down to a few models:

Hyundai i30 - Nice car and some real bargains around. The boot isn't huge which is fine for day to day but we camp a lot so would need a roof box I suppose.
Hyundai i30 tourer - look nice and love the practicality but second hand, they seem uncommon.
Hyundai ix35 - love the look and practicality but apparently thirsty with handling not that great.
Ford Focus Estate - it surprised me, I loved it. I've had a couple of older Fords though and they were money pits.
Ford C-Max - Very practical but the same concerns.
Chevrolet Cruze LT - a total curveball but surprisingly nice. I just don't think I'd trust it long term.

Ruled out:

Nissan Note and Qashqai - boot too small
Kia Cee'd SW - I thought I wanted this but felt cheap and plasticky in reality
Anthing Citroen, Renault or Peugeot. Bad experiences.
VW, BMW - very nice but I can get a lot more for my money.

Budget is about 10k.

I'm asking for the moon on a stick aren't I? Does anyone have any experiences of my shortlist or any other recommendations?

Thank you if you got this far.

Have you considered a volvo?

www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201504152633049?atmobcid=soc3

I'm on my 2nd new shape focus (I do a lot of mileage). I've got the estate now and it's fab. It's a titanium x with sat Nav and parking camera plus all the flashy bits like it parks itself, lane keeping aid, bluetooth, front/rear parking sensors. It seats 5 adults comfortably and the boot is huge.
I'll be keeping this one for as long as I can and will quite likely get another, or a Kuga if I can afford one

I do really like the focus I must admit. I sat in it and just thought "I love this". I need to take one for a drive.

I hadn't actually considered a Volvo. That does tick all the boxes.

Focus ST? If you like the Focus and want something nippy?

I hadn't actually considered a Volvo. That does tick all the boxes

That particular Volvo doesn't, it's deathly slow!

I have an i30 and love it. Hyundai come with a really long manufacturer's warranty which was handy when my door handle broke. I took it to be fixed and it was one of their recall jobs so they did it for free.

Next door has the estate version of the i30 which looks ok.

We have the Hyundai ix35 brilliant car can't fault it in the slightest haven't found it thirsty in the slightest great size boots comfortable ride.

We've just sold our 2009 i30- loved it and super reliable. Needed more space and would have got i40 tourer but wanted petrol which you can't get. I think the same is the case of the ix35. But if the size of the i30 works for you I would highly recommend. We had a diesel but think they come in petrol readily.

Thanks all.

I'm testing an ix35 and a Focus estate (both petrol) at the weekend. I'm quite excited!