Hi.
You're right not to be keen on Peugeot... as a general rule of thumb, French car markers nearly always feature at the bottom of customer reliability and customer satisfaction surveys... and my own experience of owning a Peugeot 307 last year, and my fathers experience of owning a Renault 21 in the mid 90's is in keeping with those survery results.
When I owned my 307 XSI, which was a 52 reg I admit, but was only 1 private owner with 22,000 miles and purchased from the original supplying Peugeot main dealer, I must have worked my way through the entire Peugeot car range as courtesy cars.. it was in the garage so often I had a couple of 207's on loan, a 308, a 407 and a 1007..
The 1007 was automatic and was a pain to drive because it had flappy paddle gears and was poorly built inside.. this was because, if you wanted, you could change the interior colours by buying extra bits.
To my knowledge, there is no other manufacturer currently offering anything similar to the 1007 with a sliding door. Alternatives, I'd suggest, would be the Mitsubishi ' i ' ... Top Gear said "Japan is crowded, so it has lots of small cars. None, though, are quite as cool as the Mitsubishi i. Practical four-seater that genuinely stands out, with a name that'll confuse anyone." Although a four door, it has a narrow profile - ideal for garages - and being a Mitsubishi, being Japanese, it'll be reliable and hold its money. Four door versions of the Mitsubishi Colt and Toyota Aygo might appeal as well. Avoid 3dr cars though, as the doors on these tend to be longer than the doors on 5dr versions of the same car, which makes getting out the car in a tight space all the more difficult.
Mikie