Nissan Almera Tino vs Daewoo Tacuma

One for the Road, number 73

Daewoo Tacuma

Peter Robinson is not well and needs to replace his ancient Rover with something cheap (£800) and very reliable.

A car for the head

Because of Peter's condition, he really needs to have a vehicle that he can get in and out of easily, so I would recommend a people-carrier style of vehicle. It does not have to be that big, just a high-rise hatchback, really. And for the purposes of reliability, it does need to come from the Far East. So I think the Nissan Almera Tino is perfect. A practical car, a 1.8SE with a year's MOT is £595 – that's great value for money and he will also get air-conditioning.

A car for the heart

There isn't a car for the heart here, just the best-value ones. Oh and also the very ugly, unfashionable and therefore cheap ones. In that case, the obsolete Daewoo Tacuma makes a lot of sense. Here is an odd-looking Korean car from the company that was taken over by Chevrolet. But it's easy to drive, spacious and, best of all, reliable. That is all Peter needs and for just £700, he can buy a recent and tidy example, such as a 2004 1.6 SE with 61,000 miles on the clock.

Looking to buy?

Email James Ruppert at onefortheroad@independent.co.uk, giving your age, address and phone number, details of the type of vehicle in which you are interested, and your budget