Hi Tina,

Being honest, for that budget (your top money of €28,000, to find the latest electrified vehicles) you’re going to have to be looking at used hybrids – and, realistically, you might need to consider 171 and 172-plate cars as well, to give you the best possible chance of finding the vehicle you’re after. Toyota and its luxury arm Lexus are well represented, given your remit of needing a big boot, as all of the C-HR, Auris, Prius and RAV4 (Toyota) and the CT 200h (Lexus) will fit your bill. The RAV4 is going to be the best for carrying space, unless you find an Auris Touring Sports Hybrid, and the Lexus isn’t bad for cargo capacity as it’s a hatchback. Our preferred choice of all of these is the C-HR Hybrid, although you’ll need to check your teenage children are happy sitting in the back.

If you’re very lucky, examples of two German plug-in hybrids – the BMW 330e and the Mercedes C 350 e – might fall into your reach, but two small considerations: firstly, estate versions of these two are very thin on the ground; and secondly, to be affordable for you, they’ll have higher mileage on them, like 100,000km and more. An alternative to all of these is the Kia Niro crossover, of which there are some good examples in your budget.

Finally, give serious thought to the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. A plug-in hybrid, it would be cheap to run during your weekly short journeys (provided you charge it up regularly) and it will function well for longer trips away at weekends, with lifestyle trips included. You can find them for €20,000, too, albeit they’ll be 151/152 cars; newer ones will be top end of your budget.