Avoid the AX as they crash very badly (sorry but every properly crashed one I have seen has had blood in the drivers foot well).

I have to agree with Ken here, the BX is a great "cheap" car for munching motorway miles.

I had a 19RD but the turbo varieties are good too. Easy to get 60mpg or more, reasonably quiet for an older car, and there are plenty of noise kits still around for them, that plus the brakes are stunningly good as stock.

The suspension on the BX is extremely good at soaking up the bumps and very stable in crosswinds etc too. It isn't as complicated as people make out, and is pretty easy to work on too. There are stacks and stacks of spares available as the French loved them. That plus there is a vast amount of room around the engine and so cam belt changes etc are very cheap.

I ran ours to 250k miles, and I think the MOT required a £5 seat catch for one that had been sticking for years finally broke, and a clean air filter to pass. Did all the servicing myself too with only a basic tool kit.

Servicing costs are low as it is an oil change plus filter, using a decent oil such as Millers XFE (semi synth) or XFD (fully synth) came to under £20. The car handles a lot better than many people give it credit for and the estate is stunning for beer runs to france

Other wise LHM is cheap, and if the spheres are sound they last for ages. The only thing you MUST do is change the suspension fluid and clean the filter, as dictated every few years. To counter this though this fluid is also used for brakes and power steering so you don't have to change them.

I'd say it's a good car and you can pick good ones up for peanuts too.

EDIT: I used to be able to do about 64mpg on a long run without any particular effort, and used to get from the south coast to well up north and back on a single tank with enough fuel left to get around a bit before filling up.

another thing to consider is the Seat toledo 1.9tdi

mine used to do 62mpg at 60 and 42 at an indicated 115

doubt if you get get one sub £500 tho

Since CM's mentioned crashworthiness, i've only ever seen one heavily crashed BX; it was a workmate of mine who crashed it. His passenger refused point-blank to wear a seatbelt (even after this), and after being put into a wall at 50some mph, they both walked (not limped, walked) away, with nothing worse than a few minor cuts and seatbelt bruises.

I'd second what was said about the BX in a crash, pretty safe for an older car.

Failing that if you don't like the suspension that much then an 405 td is a good buy, but a bit more expensive than a BX.

BX is partly down to some trick design; if it hits a flattish plate, the crumple zones fold "down and in" rather than just in, lifting the safety cell above the impact.