Citroen C5 and Renault Laguna are roomy, modern rep-mobiles. But they have yet to make an impact on private buyers, and used values are easing as a result. The jury is still out on reliability, but both are well equipped and easy to drive, with fleet-cheap service and parts costs.

A 7,000-mile 01Y C5 1.8 LX 16v hatchback is just £10,000; the same money gets you a 23,000-mile Laguna 1.8 16v Expression on 01Y (at independent retailers). The C5 estate and Laguna Sport Tourer are rarer - expect to pay up to £800 over hatchback models.