Ive had french, wouldnt recommend, i still have my 1.0 corsa b and its a trooper, not bad space inside, not quick but some poke, and i get about 60mpg from it costs nothing to run, easy to fix because there is barely anything under the bonnet, and parts cost naff all, gumtree ebay or a local scrappy, id recommend new parts if youre paying for labour;
but on the other hand ive also had an FR Ibiza which apart from having a blown engine... was a decent car, made of **** plastic and rattles like !Removed! so i dont recommend an FR maybe a nice 1.2 or something and you'll get a more comfortable ride, the diesels do very well on fuel but aare a little more to insure, the car in general is cheap on insurance because theyre safe, but a little more on parts and labour.
my two cents anyways