With everyone well into their Saint Patrick's Day hangover, we thought that it would be timely to flag up a car that's both soothingly quiet to the ears and relatively gentle on partied-out wallets.
The Toyota Prius doesn't get a lot of automotive writer love, but it's a darned effective way to get a foothold on the electric car ladder. OK, so the Prius' tech is relatively old these days - this is no plugin and you won't even find any lithium-ion batteries here. But we did find a current-shape model, with lots of optional kit, from a main Toyota dealer for the price of a new Ford Fiesta. That's a lot of car, and a lot of tech, for the money.
If you're living in town and most of your mileage is stop-start city stuff then this is the car for you. Priuses really shine in terms of fuel economy when you keep them in town, and you also won't notice the over-light steering or lack of driving fun as much. The spacious, bright, comfortable cabin also comes into its own here. Just don't take it out on the motorway or your fuel consumption will be knackered in seconds.
Click here to view our #FridayFind used car - 2010 Toyota Prius 1.8 Luxury
With Mazda's new compact CX-3 getting its first reviews this week, it also seems timely to take a look back to when Mazda first gave us a silky, gorgeous SUV. It was called the CX-7 and, rather bizarrely, it only came with a 2.3-litre turbo petrol engine, lifted from the hot Mazda 6 MPS saloon. That certainly didn't do anything for its sales performance but it was a lovely thing to drive, and still looks fresh today.
There aren't many out there (and we can't find a single one of the rare 2.2-litre diesel models) but for €8,950 the one we found is a heck of a car for the cash and as long as you can stomach the fuel, tax and insurance bills, you'll have yourself a cracking, and rare, SUV.
Click here to view our #FridayFind used car - 2008 Mazda CX-7