Safe, Nice, Fairly Modern car

[JamesMay]

Hey Automotive Addicts

Skip back 3 and a half weeks now, and I was involved in an accident. A pretty serious one at that - head on at about 50mph. Completely destroyed my beloved Mazda MX-5, and fucked me up pretty bad in the process. I ended up with tears in my bowel that had to be operated on, a leak in a collapsed lung which stopped me from eating for 2 weeks, a few broken ribs and a pretty fucked up face (no airbags sucks.). I was in intensive care for 3 weeks, so as you can imagine, my family have been to hell and back with worry (as have I!).

But I'm not here for the sympathy, I just thought it'd be best you all knew my background. I got out of hospital last week, and I'm still a bit sore here and there but I'm well on the mend. And the most exciting part for me is that in 3 weeks, I'll be allowed to drive again :D

I'm very keen to get back behind the wheel of a K11 Nissan Micra. This might seem really odd but I had one once before, and I loved it to death. However, after a near death experience, my family aren't to keen on the idea of me driving around in something that can be compared to a tin can.

So here's my real predicament: I'm 18, I live in the UK where insurance is damn high, my family want me to drive something modern and safe. I'm very up on cars, but I cannot for the life of me think of what to buy. I have about £1500 solid cash to spend on a car, and a further £3000 for insurance. £3000 for insurance may sound like a fuck-load, but I have been quoted £2900 for a Nissan Micra 1.3.

Any ideas from you guys will go down a treat. I just need a bit of inspiration! The car will be getting tastefully modified, so any good examples will help massively.

Cheers guys.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I'll also consider anything older that's safe. Only problem I've found, is that most older, safer cars are brick shit houses with huge engines.

[Pringles.]

Buy a Volvo

[sbradford26]

[QUOTE=Pringles.;30312413]Buy a Volvo[/QUOTE]

[Second-gear-of-]

I'd say Volvo if it's like 98 and up. If it's older, you'd probably consider it a brick shit house with a big engine.
If those aren't an option, get like a Mondeo or something, those are pretty safe and aren't bad looking.

[turke]

[QUOTE=Second-gear-of-mgear;30316202]I'd say Volvo if it's like 98 and up. If it's older, you'd probably consider it a brick shit house with a big engine.
If those aren't an option, get like a Mondeo or something, those are pretty safe and aren't bad looking.[/QUOTE]

You won't get insured for £3000 on any volvo or mondeo

[editline]7th June 2011[/editline]

for an 18 year old

[Strike 86]

I'm 19 and I pay just over £1000 insurance for my '02 Mitsu Galant (2.0L) third party.
Point is you can get insurance on anything with a reasonable sized engine.
As well as Volvo, I'd recommend taking a look at Renault - they have a stellar safety record and they're not bad looking cars, some of them. My ancient '98 Mégane 1.6 had a 4-star Euro-NCAP rating which was class leading for its time. The more modern Méganes and Clios are even better, and because they're French, they're dirt cheap.