Hah! Yeah but it seems they are flogging loads at the moment! Thanks all for the help.
A couple of things;
Reliability. Being sure your car will start in the morning is a big deal and the hassle of having to get it fixed has to mitigate some of the cost. How reliable is your current car?
Kia and Hyundai are very good cars (I think Hyundai are better) but look at the Japanese, European and American models as well. Honest John is an excellent site for reviews. If you are calculating based on 5 years of ownership then look at all the cars with a warranty of 5 years of more.
VW's are expensive to buy and run, relative to cars of equal size, build quality and general driver experience. I've owned a few and I'm not a fan.