Hi Colm,

In essence, the general rules are that first-time buyers should go for a city car-sized hatchback (the smallest cars available) and with an engine no bigger than 1.2 litres; less, if possible, for reasons of insurance. Your budget is healthy and gets you all the usual suspects like the Skoda Citigo, Toyota Aygo, Ford Ka and so on, but our favourite and our recommendation to you is a 2014-on Hyundai i10 with the 1.0-litre engine. It’s a superb little machine that’s easy to live with and surprisingly refined on the motorway (despite its size), and yet it’s reliable, cheap to run and not massively powerful – ideal as a set of starter wheels.