Newish hatch / x-over £15-20k

[Legend83]

Female friend of mine has just had her A3 written off so is looking to replace. I'm not too up on what the best offerings are in the new/nearly new hatchback segment (she may also consider a cross-over) currently but her main requirements are:

- Petrol
- Comfort
- Reasonable boot space as may be getting a dog

My instinct on the comfort front was something Volvo, French or Lexus but are any of their current models any good? The CT200h was a bit crap when first released but are newer models better?