I've had my Fabia vRS from new since 2005. Loved it to bits. Some of the things I especially like about it compared to any other car I've driven:

6 manual gears

The acceleration in 2nd gear

The slightly understated looks

The ability to overtake on the motorway without bothering to change down

Reliability (never failed to start)

and of course ~50 mpg!

In general I think it's a great car, and very good value for money. A few minor things are starting to go wrong though so I'm thinking of getting another car (fancy a bit of change anyway) but am struggling to find anything else which matches up and isn't going to cost too much. I don't want anything significantly different though, just a little bit better (if that's possible?)

eg. roughly the same size/shape (can't be much bigger, my driveway is quite tight)

need 4 or 5 seats

prefer 5 doors, manual gears.

Maybe a little bit quicker, smoother, quieter.

Would love to keep the mpg and other running costs (low road tax, insurance - servicing hasn't been too bad either)

Any suggestions? My budget is ~£5000 plus whatever I'll get in exchange for the vRS. I'm thinking (hoping?) for ~4k-£5k, but might go a little higher for the right car.

Cars I started looking at include:

VW Golf (seems very expensive)

Audi A3 (pretty much everyone I know has one, so I'd prefer something a bit different!)

Fiesta ST (Tried 2005 model, couldn't drive it, only 5 gears and nowhere for your left foot!)

Thought about the new shape Polo (costly) and the new Fabia vRS (is it better than it's predecessor?)

I'm not really a car nut so I'm sure there are loads of others I haven't even considered. Suggestions welcome (or even cars to avoid) and armed with some names and models I can hit google with more confidence

This is pretty left-field, and fairly likely to be a minority suggestion on this forum*, but have you considered an... Octavia vRS?

Same chassis as the Golf/A3, and if you go for the diesel version should achieve similar mpg to your Fabia, £9-10k should get you an excellent model too.

*

just in case there's any doubt, I'm obviously being massively sarcastic here.

and the new Fabia vRS (is it better than it's predecessor?)

It is massively better. Faster, much better handling, same size as before. It will do nearly 50mpg if you are disciplined on a trip, road tax is good.

The only thing it doesn't have is the manual gearbox, like the Polo.

In fact I'm struggling to think of anything that fits your wants, perhaps an Ibiza FR? I agree about the Fiesta ST, it was garbage, far too stiff and would get tiresome very quickly.

One thing you shouldn't do IMO is trade for a car that is as old as your vRS, otherwise all those minor things will still need doing.

BMW 1 series 123D? compact, quick and cheap to run, downside are, when you service it at a BMW dealer, around 12K+ for a decent second hand.

You'll get more for your money with an Octy Vs a golf or A3.

Feeling Brave> Alfa 159 or a 147 or possibly even a GT or Brera. Keep cash for fixing it.

1 series Beemer, but like the A3 they're expensive for what you get, and the styling is a bit Marmite.

a 59 or 60 plate Fiat Grande Punto Sporting - the 155bhp 1.4 seems good, great build quality these days.

a bit bigger: Volvo 2.0d S40 R-Design SE: 58 plate

Honda Civic 2.2d - quick and reliable.

Just a couple of suggestions if the A3 and Golf are out of the question.

This is pretty left-field, and fairly likely to be a minority suggestion on this forum*, but have you considered an... Octavia vRS?

I'd second this one, normally I drive a Fabia VRS and I've had a couple of Octavia VRS diesels for work now and been quite impressed with them, well worth a look, I'd certainly be looking at one seriously if I needed a bigger car. Only thing that annoyed me was the CD changer in the front, but that's probably just me not being used to it. Take a test drive in one, see what you think.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. A few ideas I hadn't even considered there.

There is also the Volvo C30..available in 2.0D or D5 spec

OP preferred a 5 door, otherwise the C30 would of been spot on.

R-Design Volvo S40/V50 are actually quite nice.

Seats aren't bad either:

Does it have to be diesel?

Renault Sport Clio Cup?