Yes, you're right. I even feel bad about having to have a car at all, although it seems I must in Doha. I presently live in the city centre back home and so everywhere is within walking distance; the public transport system is okay if I need it; plus I can get an occasional taxi home when I need to carry my groceries home from the supermarket.

The Swift you refer to; is that the Suzuki Swift? I'm not familiar with that model so just Googled it, it looks okay to me. Ease of parking sounds good, although I've always been of the opinion that that's what the bumpers are there for. Once you bump into something, that's when you know you've gone too far and you should stop! ;) As you said, though, I'd have to check out the cooling as I wouldn't want to be stuck in a traffic jam with no or inefficient a/c. I guess crash protection/safety is going to be an important factor too, given what everyone says about driving in Doha. It looks like a good solution though.

I'll look into the others too, thanks for the suggestions jackmohan. The fuel efficiency of those 4x4 SUVs is shocking!

Does anyone know, roughly speaking, what the monthly repayments would be on a car loan for any of those models? Swift/Corolla/Civic/Tiida/Accord?

Thanks