Budget 10-12K (petrol)

Hi everyone,

Unfortunately the light of my life has been extinguished. The '99 Yaris that served as my first car and had safely seen me through the last 6 years had her catalytic converter ripped from her undercarriage recently. Savages.

So I'm looking to buy a new car and I could just about stretch the budget to about €12'000 (preferably 10 though). I'll list some need-to-haves below:

• Car has to be petrol. Don't drive enough to justify a diesel.
• Definitely bigger than a Yaris. Would actually quite like a saloon but a big (well bigger than a Yaris) hatchback would definitely do me.
• Reliability would be a big factor for me as well. The poor Yaris essentially cost me nothing in repairs overs the years (just some tyres, oil etc.)

My own search keeps bringing me back to the old reliable cohort of Fabia, Fiesta, Octavia, et al. But I suppose my problem is that the cars I'm seeing just don't...excite me?

So along with the need-to-haves, I've one nice-to-have. Something that gets the blood flowing. So please help me out and send your opinions on!