[mickjf]

So after mulling over whether or not to get a small to mid sized hatch as a second family car and one my now L plate son could drive I decided to pull the trigger and get something. Goal was a base model, decent size for 4 passengers but as many safety features as possible.

Mazda 3 & Corolla - Simply too small in the back seats so crossed off immediately
Focus Trend - Great size, driveline and handling but at $30k+ simply too much for what it is plus insurance would be $1.4k with my son listed next year
Hyundai i30 Go - Good size, good driveline with safety pack $25k and $500 a year cheaper in insurance than the Focus

In the end I went with a Kia Cerato S auto with the safety pack for $22k on road. Driveline and handling are average (but acceptable), but the included safety and other features combined with the 7 year warranty and the cheapest for insurance made it the obvious choice.

I know Ford & Mazda are claiming that the market is heading upspec to justify cutting base models and hiking prices on what used to be their mid spec models. But so far their sales aren't exactly growing, whereas Kia and Hyundai are. I'm sure there is more profitability compared to the cheaper Koreans, but if they have to resort to discounts to shift cars then that will evaporate quite quickly.