Sony is not the best choice. The store staff will say anything to move an expensive product that is unpopular and doesn't move on its own. They are very expensive, and they are not the best.
In the UK, a JVC, some LGs, some Pioneers, or some Toshibas would work great. You could do 3 hours on each of them, and use the tuner, and record from tape. The JVC or LG would be the best choices.
Do you want one with or without a hard drive? I do not use hard drive models personally, see no need for them. I record on DVD-RW or DVD+RW and that's that. You don't really want to edit on them anyway if you re-author.
This is my favorite:
http://www.digitalempireonline.co.uk...es&ModelID=603
If you want some help shopping,
give me a list of online sites for local UK stores, if you insist on buying locally only, and not online. I bought my JVC online in May 2004 from crutchfield.com, through the mail. Always been fine.