I'm going all out OzBargain here.
I want a small to mid hatch or SUV, ideally under $10-$15k. Cheap to run in terms of fuel economy. Cheap for parts when you inevitably hit the issues any used car hits. I've done Holden and then VW and finally learned my lessons on cars that may be cheap until you have to maintain them.
So let's start by dismissing all Holden and Euro cars and go from there.
It was the Vectra. Then the Astra, which wasn't quite as bad. I was able to run the sucker into the ground without spending too much on it. Apparently the Cruze is rotten to the core.
Hatch will be cheaper than an SUV.
Pick toyota corolla, yaris, mitsubishi lancer, hyundai or kia.
My suggestions are more light class than small… Suzuki Swift 1.0 turbo engine; JDM Honda Fit Hybrid. Check out the guys at ReDriven
Had Subaru XV was great small SUV.
Not particularly economical though and the boot is tiny!
It was decent, I'd get about 8.5L/100km around town and 7L/100km on highway. Yeah boot not the biggest but was big enough for me. I even camped in the thing with the seats down. Its basically a lifted hatch.
But true based on OPs requirements maybe they want a city car
I got mid 9’s, but it lived mostly around Brisbane inner city though. That’s pretty bad these days.
Super practical car in many ways but completely useless for a trip to ikea - wouldn’t do the “cream leather” seats/interior combo again either - looked like hell after 10 years!
@jackary: Interesting! Different experience different lifestyle I guess. I am also in Brisbane but out in the suburbs. I found it just fine for Ikea! I have a forester now and do love the extra space, but the flatpacks fit pretty good in most cars I've had. Even a BRZ.
Seats folded down of course, just boot space alone does not fit much you are right.
Been warned off Subaru. Reliability issues and expensive maintenance.
Fair enough, there were issues with headgaskets on the EJ engines. Anything with the FA/FB engine is pretty solid though. I've got 2, have friends with another 2 and have not had any serious issues in the years I've had them.
Regardless from what you are looking for it sounds like you want an efficeint small car, maybe look at a Honda civic or jazz?
Yeah definitely a weird one. Our XV did 12 years and 210,000km of faithful service before being traded in. Other than the usual consumables of course.
Honda Jazz!
It's a hatch with more space than most SUVs, very reliable, cheap to insure and run.
If you can up your budget slightly, Honda HR-V.
Manual or auto or doesn't matter?
This is my suggestion given the limited info
Let me guess - was it a Cruze or C
raptiva?