Fix or buy second hand - budget 8k

Hey Motor enthusiast,

I currently drive a 06 Ford Focus 1.4 LX petrol. I got it 4 years ago off a "dealer" and have had numerous expensive issues with it since:
* Check engine light was taped up, found this out when the instrument cluster failed 3 weeks outside the "dealer warranty" - a pricey grand to fix
* Literally a month later, the engine light came on again, this time the cat converter needed replacing - Think I spent another 500 quid
* Been looking after it well since the first year, get it serviced every year and I keep the interior and exterior nice as well. Didn't have any issues until a couple of weeks ago.
* Was away on a trip and car lost power. Felt like clutch but also sounded like misfiring. Had a local mechanic take a look (on a Sunday! Bless, they were very good) and turns out there's water leaking in to the spark plugs (apparently common problem). Mechanic blew out all the water with a compressor (you could have a bath in the amount), sealed it up and away we went.
* Literally halfway back home (the other side of the country) the clutch went, completely. Couldn't be without a car so brought it to my own mechanic who replaced the entire clutch. Another 400 euro.

Not sure if this is a lot of money to be spending on a 4k car I bought 4 years ago, but it feels like 6k+ is a lot.

Anyway - the NCT was due in June, and with the covid extension will be due in October. It flew through first go last year (after servicing) but I know the brakes need doing now - 250 euro.

I'm trying to decide if it's worth to put more money in to this car (even though I love it and it has served me well in many ways) or if I should look into getting a newer car, knowing the focus will become more difficult to insure as time goes on.

I don't drive a lot (less than 10k miles a year), most of it rural and short distance with the occasional long distance trip (say 4 times a year across the country) so definitely staying with a petrol.

The focus (saloon) is too big, I don't need it and I still struggle to judge how long it is when parking.

Have been keeping an eye on donedeal and carsireland and this is what I've been looking for, would love any input or suggestions:

* 2012 or newer
* Not too pushed on mileage since I don't drive a lot, but looking at things around or below 80k miles
* Not a citycar (Thinking Seat Mii, Citigo, Up, i10), but a nice supermini (hatchback or something of that sort)
* Reliable, I don't want to spend as much as I have on repairs all the time
* Similar or cheaper to tax every year compared to the focus (which is 385 for the year)
* Cheaper or similar to ensure every year
* Not too pushed on fuel economy, since I don't drive a lot and would happily pay a little more in fuel costs for something that's a bit of craic to drive.
* Budget 8k, could stretch it to 9k if needs be, but it would need to be special

I'm not too experienced with cars, don't have any mechanic friends to bring and will be doing this solo (as a woman, if that matters), so I want to be as prepared as possible so I'm not getting stung (like last time)

Makes & Models that I've liked while browsing the net:
* Ford Fiesta 2013 or newer
* Suzuki Swift
* Hyundai i20 / i30 (although the i30s are rare)
* Honda Civic / Jazz (Civic would be my favourite, but they're not easy to come by it seems)

Thanks !