New car!

The biggest ticket item on our 'baby list' is a new (used) car; one to replace Gill's Toyota Echo which, whilst reliable and great about town, is a tin can on wheels and not the safest car for a small child.

So, the spec:

• medium-smallish sized car (e.g. bigger than a Mazda2/Toyota Yaris, but smaller than a Mazda6/Toyota Camry)
• automatic transmission
• good safety rating
• 5 door hatchback
• Enough space for a pram + a couple of bags
• small lip on the boot and fairly wide boot opening
• reasonable fuel efficient
• Under $15 000
• Under 100 000 km
• Less than 6 years old

As someone whose knowledge of cars is pretty poor, I had to do plenty of research. There were a few contenders. The Ford Focus was up there, but was ruled out as there is a question mark over the auto version, which apparently can be a little clunky. I decided to exclude European cars simply because they can be more expensive to maintain in this part of the world (which may be a little unfair, but it helped narrow the field); I ruled out American cars because, well, I'm just prejudiced when it comes to American things. Which largely leaves Asian makes... many of which have very good reputations.

The also-rans: 

Toyota Corolla: the most efficient option, very reliable, and possibly the most popular small-medium sized car. It has lots of boot space and a wide boot opening, too. However, it lost marks on cost and, well, it's still a Corolla. And the dash it a bit dull. But it was my frontrunner for a while.

Mazda3: Not as fuel efficient as the Corolla, but much more fun to drive. Sporty in design and feel, it is also not the quietest in the cabin - which probably contributes to the sporty feel. Wide boot opening but not especially big.

The winner: Hyundai i30

Not as sporty or as fun to drive as the Mazda, but more interesting all round than the Corolla. The cabin is really quiet and it's very fuel efficient. The boot size is in between the other two models; a low lip and big enough for what we need. The i30 is well reviewed and competes very favourably with similar cars in its class, being seen as a bit of a 'breakthrough' model for the Korean car maker. Excellent dash that doesn't look dated or a plasticky (not sure that's a word). The clincher, though, was the price. We could get much more for our money than the other two more popular models, i.e. it meant we were able to afford a newer car. To get an equivalent Mazda3 or Corolla would cost another $5k. So we have a 2011 Hyundai i30 (87 000km), which still has 18 months left under the manufacturer's warranty (in addition to the dealer's three year warranty). No fancy extras other than bluetooth and cruise control.

And here it is, parked in Double Bay: