If you do longer distances I would go diesel IMO but not sure what will happen with the emissions and tax etc. Electric isnt bad but the ranges are still not great and you ideally need to live near a proper charger port or have one fitted at home as charging them on the mains takes ages. Depends on budget you want to spend etc. I personally think lease deals are very good as you get a brand new motor with all mod cons etc. have it for a few years then hand it back for something else. My dad has done it for many years since his company binned the company cars policy and he loves it. He recently got a brand new Volvo V90 R design with top spec for not much over 300 quid a month. It helps a bit that my partners dad works in a Volvo garage though. If you dont want to go down the lease route I would personally go for a car a few years old from one of the better car makers. That way you get a really nice motor that normally you couldnt get brand new that has already taken the brunt of the depreciation. I got a top spec focus around 18 months ago that was a 14 plate, cost way less than a brand new one would have but still had so many gadget etc. Getting rid of that soon as fancy a change and will be looking into a Audi or BMW from a similar year that will be just as good spec wise and equally cheap.
Just a further point on diesels - if you're thinking of driving abroad from time to time, more and more European cities are banning diesels because of pollution. In Hamburg, which I visit regularly, most diesels are banned today and all diesels will be permanently banned within the next few years. That's also the trend in other German cities. It's only a matter of time before diesels become unusable in many countries in Europe.
