Cars for kids: choosing the right car - Best buy up to £3000

Toyota Yaris 1.0 16v GS 3dr ('99/T-'01/Y)
Price from £2300

The Yaris is a terrific car. It's fun to drive, good-looking and well screwed together.

Go for the GS model and you'll get two airbags, power steering, electric front windows and central locking.

S trim cars are £200-£300 less, but don't have any of this equipment, so we'd avoid them.

You're buying a six- to eight-year-old car, so reliability can't be guaranteed.

However, the Yaris is about as dependable as cars of this era get, while its 1.0-litre engine is fantastically frugal, averaging just over 50mpg.

The GS model was fitted with anti-lock brakes from February 2001, so if you can stretch towards the upper end of the budget, look out for a later car.

Or try a...
Nissan Almera 1.5 5dr ('98/S-'00/V)
Price from £2100

The Almera is cheap to buy and offers a lot more space than either the Yaris or Clio.

It should also be faultlessly reliable and has four airbags and anti-lock brakes as standard.

Unfortunately, it's badly let down by a staid image.

Renault Clio 1.2 Authentique 3dr ('01/Y-'02/52)
Price from £2500

The Renault can't compete with the Toyota for reliability, but the Clio has a lot of kit as standard.

You'll get four airbags, anti-lock brakes, electric front windows, remote central locking and power steering on Authentique models.