Help - don't know where to start

[thinkfast]

Waiting to hear from our insurer whether or not it will be economical to repair our reliable and economical (but boring) 2006 Toyota Corolla following a recent accident but fully expecting them to say it's written off.

We will need a replacement as DH needs to drive to and from work. We have no idea whether we will be better off leasing, buying something with finance or getting a PCP.

Our "must haves" are:-

At least as big as the corolla, but preferably bigger (there are 4 of us)
Reliable
Economical to run and insure
Doors to the back
Nothing really low as my back can't take all the bending over to strap the kids in
Safe
Nothing tooooo rotten for the environment

Our nice to haves (but luxuries) are:-
Something high up eg suv style
Gadgets eg satnav, rear sensors, phone plug in

We could afford up to £2,500 up front and ideally would like costs to be around £200 per month plus petrol, but we could stretch to £350 per month

Been googling and thinking a new Dacia or a used Skoda on finance?

Any help or suggestions gratefully received!

If I was in your position I'd be tempted to replace like for like, look for another Corolla around the same age. The worst decision we ever made was trading in our 2003 Corolla for a BMW 1 series.

Really? It's just such a boring car....plus we have outgrown it really - if we need say a buggy plus a suitcase in the boot we can't do it

Why was your change to a bmw a mistake! Not that we would want or could afford an expensive brand!

Old Corollas never die (unless they get written off), ours never broke down in 10 years and only ever had really minor things come up on the MOT. The BMW has needed loads of really expensive work and is uncomfortable. It's become my husband's car, I've bought myself a Toyota Yaris, would've got another Corolla but wanted something smaller.

Plus you could buy one outright and not be saddled with repayments.

Yaris, Corolla unless you can't stand it any more, Focus, Qashqai are all good choices.

Had a Yaris for years before the corolla. Definitely too small for us

I don't think we can afford a qashqai unless we were to lease and really stretch ourselves. Not sure I'd want to buy one as my usual mechanic told me they are extremely unreliable. They're my go to choice when we rent a car on holiday though..:

What about an Auris or a Civic? Civics use space very cleverly.

For high up you could consider a Ford C-Max or Mazda 5. They are not SUVs, but they are taller than a Focus or Corolla. The Toyota Verso might be worth a look as well? You might find them boring too, but given requirements of reliable and cheap to run, boring comes with the territory.

For something closer to a proper SUV, the Qashqai might be a bit too "Renault". Honda CRVs are good, but I'm not sure they are cheap to run.

Ford Ecosport or Kuga might be worth a look.

You might get a few more ideas from the Parkers car chooser?

www.parkers.co.uk/which-car/