recommendations for 1st car UK

Well it doesn't meet the Japanese requirement, but South Korea is quite close.

I highly recommend the Kia Picanto, with a 7 year warranty you can't go wrong. Mine gets 280 miles out of a £44 tank, and a dealer service is arround £250 each year.

I'm not sure if they are still doing their scrappage scheme, but you could buy an old car for £10 from eBay and use it to get £2,000 off of one of their cars in the dealership too.

financially by depreciation: go by total cost of ownership. find one 3-5 years old and sell when 7-9 years old.

financially by appreciation: honda elements go up in value.

A Mazda 2 fits that description nicely. I adored my Mazda 3

Buick LeSabre or any Toyota