A playful thought crossed my mind so I thought I'd ask. Please feel free to indulge or ignore me as it is entirely one of those "Help me choose a car, I'll never really buy it but I'll ask anyway" threads.

Looking for a 'nice' car, must be auto, less than £4K, big enough for kids but not a barge or a van

Low annual mileage so running costs are not a priority but needs tax & ins for < £1K per year (ins. is usually expensive for me :(). Performance and economy are not that important so an unloved (hence cheap) slow or thirsty engine/gearbox combo would be ideal. Would take a younger, high mileage example but no idea on what is likely to be reliable and what will be a money pit. Is it better to spend as much as you can on the best you can find or go cheaper and keep the extra spare for repairs/maint.?

In my mind I can see a gracefully aging V6 auto A4 (either shape) with Leather and toys or a younger N/A Subaru Legacy. What else would fit the bill?

If budget and size were not a constraint, a 300C would be perfect. Make of that what you will...

Some Jap barge - Lexus LS, Mazda Xedous, Toyota Camry etc

Seeing as we are skoda fans, what about this ??

Buy a used SKODA SUPERB Car - Auto Trader UK

Seeing as we are skoda fans, what about this ??

Buy a used SKODA SUPERB Car - Auto Trader UK

Bit bigger than I was hoping for. In my mind an A4 is far smaller although I doubt it is in real life

Some Jap barge - Lexus LS, Mazda Xedous, Toyota Camry etc

Maybe a bit on the old and leggy and tbh, those jap ones don't really appeal.

There are plenty of X-Type and S-Type Jags for that sort of money and quite a few can be lowish mileage and well cared for.