Sal, I know I'm biased, but think about a Landrover Discovery, a late model 300Tdi will pull anything, there are no computers to run the engine which makes things simple(and cheap!) driven with a light right foot they'll return 38+ MPG, parts grow on trees at the bottom of the garden, and £3000 will get you a really good one(But not mine! But she is a V8!) If you use an independent service specialist, a service will set you back around £350 all in for a yearly. A really good Series 2 Disco will set you back around £10.000, but will have every knob, bell, and whistle in the world.

Wassail! Chris