If you're just looking at a car for a year, why not just get something cheap? You could get a normal Up for £5k with 9,000 miles, which I personally still think is expensive for a car to have for a year. I'd be looking at cars under £3k like a Ford Focus or a Toyota Corolla.
I had a normal up for a day while my golf was getting serviced, it was alright but I wouldn't want to own one for everyday, a lot to be desired in terms of comfort.