Looking for Recommendations...

Hey guys,

My old man wants to swap his 03 focus for something a bit better as it's starting to cost more than it's worth. Only thing is his budget seems to be around the £3-4k mark at the moment.

I'm inclined to point him towards an Octavia 1.9tdi but I don't know if he'd get a decent one for that price. He quite likes Passats. My mum really loves my grandma's Mk5 golf but they are probably way out of budget. I really don't know what the going rate for anything is at the moment.

He's never had a diesel before, would like something with slightly more room (I may have to go to France in the back of it next year  :| ) and home comforts than the focus, but without a massive jump in running/maintenence costs. Ideally a diesel would be a pre-DPF model.

I know that's really limiting but if anyone's got any ideas I'd be grateful to hear them.

Cheers