the TUD in AXs, Saxos, 106s and sometimes even the old Metro just sneaks into the lower of the old-car tax brackets, with a slightly higher insurance bracket than the smaller petrol models. However, I baulked at putting one of my nearest and dearest (my daughter) into a 106 and its derivatives after looking at the crash injury statistics, and the AX got the boot for pretty much the same reason though it's a brilliant design in some ways.regrettably it seems only newer cars have smaller diesel engines
That's where something like a basic Fiesta, although prone to welded-in sparkplugs if they're not changed regularly , seems to score better even if it's not so appealing in other ways. Parts are pretty cheap, but rust is a constant worry.
Or there's the ZX (or maybe even a Zsara ro a 306) if you're prepared to go a little larger - there are still some of those around in low-level petrol form. Early Ford Focuses are getting cheaper and cheaper by the day, and are also available in fairly basic form, but may still not be quite as cheap as you want them to be. My daughter learned to drive in one of these and still likes them.
