Eco car for £1500, pref auto

[VRSphil]

I find myself in a position where I would like to save some cash for a year or two, and fuel/running costs needs to be addressed. If I can't find anything suitable at this price I may have to consider selling my beloved e34 BMW and find something a bit more expensive, but I'd love to be able to keep it as well.

Things I would like:

50+mpg, perhaps too much to ask I know.
Reliable (so at this end of the market probably petrol)
Not too painfully slow (possible?)
Cheap enough to fix if it does break, reasonable cost of tyres and other consumables
Not too noisy or uncomfortable (will be used for a reasonable sized commute)
Auto, but not absolutely essential
Not too embarrassing to be driving as a younger bloke, K11 Micra I'm looking at you.
It only has to carry me and the odd bag of shopping

My thoughts so far, but I haven't really bought a car like this before so possibly haven't a clue what I need to look for:

Suzuki Swift 1.2, I've been told they're almost 100bhp and fun to drive, not sure about real world economy
Mk1 Yaris - been in one and very rattly and noisy
Smart 0.7 - reliability & refinement an issue?
Jazz CVT - pensioner image, even more than the others...
206 1.6 HDI
Fiat Panda 1.3 diesel. Hideous to my eyes but maybe James May is right about them?

Any help or advice on my new purchase will be gratefully received, I realise it's quite a dull 'what car'!

thanks all

[PositronicRay]

A motorbike.

[VRSphil]

I need a car not a motorbike. Thanks anyway.

[Farmer Geddon]

My wife had one of the first Kia Picantos when they first came out. Cheap as chips in every respect and never went wrong. Not sure what they're like used, obviously they're older now but worth a look.

[DoubleD]

Are you going to be doing big mileage? If so do you really want to be in a tiny cheap car even if it's is economical?

[FidoGoRetroGo]

Aygo? Ours has been flawless in our 7 years of ownership. Don't think I could get it as low as 50MPG if I tried.

Twenty quid tax, services cost peanuts.

Nothing, ever has gone wrong and I've never owned a car that I would trust to get me from A to B more than the little guy.

It's perhaps a bit slow for your needs, but if I were in the market for a £1500 car that combined cheap running costs with exceptional reliability I wouldn't cconsider anything else.