I did some MTB in the canaries last year on a Fuji Nevada. It was a 2011 model, but I was very surprised to see how cheap it was, considering how well it rode. It’s Acera/Deore, but you could do worse. Only thing is the fork isn’t top end, but for £500 you wouldn’t expect it, and if your wife is doing mainly XC, I’m sure it would do the job – it coped with some pretty rocky stuff in the Canaries, and handled better than my old Kona bike which was twice the price. Personal preference I guess.
Evans Cycles do the Nevada 1.3 for £530, reduced from £670, disc brakes, Acera/Deore. I don’t love Evans by any means, I had to use them because of my work’s cyclescheme supplier restrictions on my most recent purchase, hence how I know they do that bike. I almost bought one, but went 29er instead.
