I've been crusading the cause of Nissan Sunderland, even though assembly is in Japan, in my efforts to promote the Almera. As well as providing anecdotal evidence of how Clios, 106s and Saxos rust in a light breeze.
That's actually a little unfair. French stuff built since about the mid 80s is pretty rust-resistant. Far more so than BMWs, Mercedes, Hondas (and most other Japanese stuff), anything made by Ford or Vauxhall, and a lot of other stuff. French cars are more likely to shed panels than the panels are to get rusty.
On a related note, Fiats and Alfas are also non-rusty since about the 90s, contrary to their 1970s/1980s reputation. I think the poor reputations meant they went wild with the galvanising so they're massively rust-protected now.
A car is indeed a car, but unlike almost all of my friends, to me they are more than point-to-point modes of transportation.
Oh yeah, not saying you should deliberately go for something dull, but the ZX I mentioned is actually quite a decent choice, even with that diesel engine - it's basically a Peugeot 306 in different clothes. I'd prefer the 306 itself (still a better looking hatchback than anything Peugeot has produced since) but they're both cars you can have fun with on a twisty road.
Of course, the Almera was always praised for its handling too.
Insurance companies would likely run a mile - 2-litres is a bit large for first car territory. They'd even get a bit squiffy over the 1.6 model unfortunately.
My dad's 1.4 diesel Citroen AX struggled to make it up hills!
The 1.9s are a bit better - we made it over the Pyrenees four-up, after all. About 70-ish horsepower. I mean, it's still one of the slowest things I've driven, but only ranked alongside my own first car, which was a 60bhp Ford Fiesta. And next to my Beetle it's a top-fuel dragster...
