Help buying my next car

[Johnboy429]

Ok guys 1st post! here goes....
I'm looking at replacing my old Renault lasagne (Laguna) as it's expensive to insure and run for a 1.8 guess it's a lot of car for a small engine.
Plus the mot is up end of sept.
So iv worked out that I will be better off investing in a new car that's cheaper to run and more economical.
My budget will be around £5000
My driving is 99% of the time commuting to and from work so involves roundabouts and junctions with some country roads 40mph top speed limit. The journey is around 8/9miles.
I have just been offered a bit of cash in hand work (please no lectures on the cash in hand lol) delivering pizzas 4 nights a week after I finish work (I'm an engineer) which I can't turn down as my missus has just been made redundant so it will come in handy!
And with a disabled son having hospital and Physio appointments we need two cars! Reliable cars at that!

So now the important/fun part! What car do I get
I initially had in my mind a 318d however iv home off the idea as the 3 series e90 are stupidly common round my ways.
So bearing in mind 9/10 the car will just be getting myself around on short journeys iv decided to go for a smaller hatchback style...
I am a car fan so I want to get something I can have a tinker with and add my own touch abut still not fall into the common fiesta/corsa/focus bracket.
I like the volvo c30 and have found a 2.0d r design with a nice spec in my price range which iv been told are excellent cars (by people on the owners group on Facebook so they're going to be biased)
Also a seat leon mk2 2.0 16v tdi 140 sport fitted with a btcc k1 kit (I believe some of these are fitted from factory)
Insurance wise they are both pretty similar

Can anyone give me they're opinions on which would be best or what they have found owning and running these particular cars? And any suggestions on other cars I may have missed. (I'm not a fan of the 1 series tho)

[Johnboy429]

Also economy is a major part in my decision!
The volvo c30 has the stereo built into the heater control/dashboard so there's not much room for customisation they're however the seat is a double din unit so just requires a facia and whichever head unit that takes my fancy!
I'm also leaning towards the leon as parts are easier to find then the volvo not to mention the readily availability of tuning parts off the shelf for the leon. Where as the volvo would require some digging around as not as popular.