At the very top of our list sits the Skoda Karoq, and for a couple of very good reasons. In a family car, there are two things you need above all else: practicality and comfort. And the Skoda is our top choice here because it delivers both in spades.

It's far from the biggest car on this list - it's actually quite compact in the scheme of things - but it's as practical as any car here because it uses its space so cleverly. In any form, it has absolutely shedloads of passenger space and a big boot, and if you avoid the entry-level trim, you also get 'Varioflex' rear seats. These recline, slide and fold independently of each other, and they can even be removed altogether to free up as much loadspace as you get in a small van.

The comfort is provided by very pliant suspension, which smoothes out lumps and bumps of all shapes and sizes, yet you also get a decent amount of body control in corners. Throw in a generous amount of standard luxury and safety equipment, plus the value-for-money that Skoda is famed for, and the Karoq becomes very difficult to beat.

If you’re looking for the top used SUV for under £10,000, then a late version of the previous Kia Sportage is an extremely safe bet. It looks sharp, has modern infotainment, is easy to drive and cheap to run. What’s not to like?

Inside, you get a modern design and smartphone integration in the form of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. You also get plenty of room for four adults, an interior that’s packed full of smaller storage spaces and cup holders, as well as a large and practical boot.

The Kia Sportage is quiet, comfortable and easy to drive. A £10,000 budget’s enough to get you a car with Kia’s economical 1.7-litre 115PS diesel engine, which is capable of returning fuel economy of more than 50mpg and has a useful slug of mid-range punch for overtaking. And it wasn't replaced until 2022, so if you find a reasonably late example with reasonably low mileage, then it'll still have a decent amount of Kia's seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty left.

The Hyundai Tucson is actually the sister car of the Kia Sportage – the pair are mechanically identical, more or less – so it’s hardly a surprise that it also appears on this list of top used SUVs for under £10,000.

The Hyundai Tucson’s more conventional looks might appeal if you’re not keen on the bug-eyed Kia. Inside, the Hyundai has plenty of room in the front and the back, and a boot that can handle holidays away or big jobs like trips to the tip.

A £10,000 budget’s enough to buy you a car with around 60,000 miles on the clock that’s fitted with a 115PS 1.7-litre diesel engine. It comes with modern kit like a large infotainment screen that’s fitted with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It'll suit you better if you're a particularly high-milage driver, too, becuase although the warranty only lasts for five years rather than the Kia's seven, there's no mileage limit.

The Nissan Qashqai is one of the original and best small SUVs, and you can have one on a budget of £10,000. That buys you a second-generation car that’s smart looking, up-to-date inside, comfortable and frugal on fuel.

Inside, the Qashqai has room for four adults, and a larger boot than you’ll find in a family hatchback of the same size. The Qashqai is also a very comfortable car with suspension that takes the edge off nasty bumps impressively well.

Our budget is enough to get you a 2016 car with around 40,000 miles and a 110PS 1.5-litre diesel engine, or a 2019 car with 70,000 miles and the same engine.

The Mazda CX-5 is one of the top used SUVs for under £10,000. It manages to combine a practical SUV-style body with a driving experience that feels surprisingly responsive and sporty.

In terms of practicality, you get loads of room up front, and even if your kids are towering teens, you’ll not hear them grumbling about a lack of rear-seat space. Factor in the large boot and you’ll find this is an ideal family car.

But it’s also fun. The steering feels direct, there’s not much body lean and the manual gearbox is slick and precise. For £10,000 you’ll get a Mazda CX-5 with a punchy 175PS 2.2-litre diesel engine, or a 150PS 2.0-litre petrol .

Okay, so £10,000 isn’t enough to get you behind the wheel of a current Volvo XC60, but it will buy you an example of the excellent older model. It makes a great family car, not least because it’s a Volvo, and so will be super-safe, ideal if you’ll be using it to ferry the kids about.

Inside, the design still looks modern, with a floating centre console that has a handy storage tray hidden behind it. You’ll also enjoy the Volvo’s incredibly comfortable seats and its large and spacious boot, which is, of course, another Volvo speciality.

The XC60’s quiet cabin and cosseting suspension make it great to while away the miles in, and a £10,000 budget is enough to get you a car fitted with the company’s excellent D4 diesel engine. It’s very good on fuel and, with 190PS, has plenty of power for overtaking.

The original Peugeot 3008 was a rather odd-looking contraption, but by the time it was replaced in 2017, it had morphed into one of the smartest-looking mid-size SUVs on the market. Things only got smarter once you opened the door and got in, because the interior of the car had a chic design and plush materials for a surprisingly upmarket feel.

Practicality is generally a strong point, because there's a big boot and roomy rear seats, but steer clear of any version fitted with a panoramic sunroof because it robs you of quite a lot of rear headroom and it becomes rather tight. Some drivers might not get on with the car's unconventional driving position, either, so you'll definitely need to try before you buy.

The 3008 is a very pleasant car to drive, with sharp handling and a firm-but-fair ride. There's not a bad engine choice in the range, but we reckon you can't go too far wrong with the 130PS 1.2-litre Puretech petrol.

Ford’s a master of making its cars a joy to drive and this quality has been replicated in the company’s large crossover SUV, the Ford Kuga, which is much more entertaining than its practical body would have you believe.

The Kuga’s accurate steering is fluid and well-weighted so you can enjoy pointing the car into corners precisely, and you don’t have to worry about over-the-top body lean. With £10,000 you can have a 150PS 2.0-litre diesel model that’s frugal and refined.

Inside, it has plenty of room for a family and the car’s raised suspension means you don’t have to bend your back when fitting a child seat or when sliding heavy luggage into the large, easy-to-load boot. You can also have kit like climate control and leather upholstery.

There are a great many reasons to recommend the previous version of the Toyota RAV4 as a used buy. First of all, it's one of the most spacious cars of its type, with huge amounts of room for passengers to stretch out, plus a massive boot for their luggage. It's also one of the most solidly built cars of its type, with the standard of the assembly inside feeling like it could withstand a nuclear blast, let alone prying fingers on the school run.

But arguably the most compelling reason is that it's likely the RAV4 will never let you down. Ever. Toyota has arguably the best reputations for reliability in the business, and even in the unlikely event that something does go wrong, Toyota's warranty will probably sort it for free. Buy a used RAV4 and have it serviced according to schedule at an approved Toyota dealer, and you'll automatically be given a 10,000-mile/12-month extension to your warranty, up to a maximum of ten years/100,000 miles. And yes, the £10,000 budget will get you car young enough, and with few enough miles, to qualify.

The Nissan X-Trail may not have the highest rating here, but it does have one advantage over all the other cars on this list, and that's that it can be had with seven seats. Granted, the extra two pews aren't the roomiest, but they're handy for when kids want to invite a couple of extra friends home for tea, and when you don't have tiny hangers-on in tow, you can fold them away to leave a huge boot. Meanwhile, up-to-date infotainment means the X-Trail can slot into your modern life extremely easily.

A big bus like this is never going to be sports-car like in corners but it's sure footed enough, eats motorways for breakfast and has light controls that take the stress out of town driving. Your budget only gets you the 1.6-litre 130PS diesel, but actually it has plenty of punch for hauling the X-Trail up to speed while returning decent fuel economy.