For the past 3 1/2 years I've been driving a 1.6HDi Citroen Xsara Picasso. At the time of purchase I had a 40 mile round trip commute on top of holidays etc and was averaging around 15,000 miles/year.

Unfortunately the car was recently written off and I now need to replace it.

However our family circumstances have changed. I now work at home but my wife has a daily 5 mile commute each way to work which she was using the Picasso for.

My estimate is that our annual mileage in the replacement car will be around 10,000 which will include my wifes daily commute, shopping trips etc along with longer 100+ mile trips around once a month and a couple of 1000 mile round trips a year when we're on holiday.

My question is whether we will be better off with a diesel or petrol car. If its petrol, what would a suitable replacement be for the Picasso? Main considerations are fuel economy, reliablilty, decent boot space and cabin room for a family of four with two rapidly growing boys.

We tend to buy secondhand and keep our cars until they drop. Am hoping we'll get around £3k for the written off Picasso and am willing to add another couple of thousand to this for the replacement car.