Škoda launched the first generation Fabia in 2000 and it has sold 1.5m cars globally.

Audi was one of the first carmakers to veer away from estate branding in favour of something thought to be more emotive. Hence the Avant.

Few cars are as distinctive as the Smart ForTwo. The original model drew a storm of publicity when it entered the UK new car market in 2000 – initially in left-hand drive.

Lexus is no longer the choice for people who have fallen out with their Mercedes or BMW dealer. It’s rapidly becoming an aspirational purchase.

Nissan describes the Qashqai (pronounced cashk-eye) as having distinctive styling that is “a marriage of the sleek shape of a passenger car with the strength of a 4x4”.

The hotly contested C-segment is a tough nut to crack, even when you have roots in Europe.

One in every 10 cars sold in the UK is an MPV. Citroën entered the growing compact MPV sector with the Xsara Picasso in June 2000.

Size, price and pulling power – those are the USPs for the SsangYong Rexton II, launched last November.

This top-of-the-range convertible has an engine management system that is capable of 200million calculations per second, offers the driver the choice of 11 gear change options, can change gear in 50milliseconds, has 279 possible combinations of driving modes, has found a cure for all cancers and can end world poverty.

Lotus dealers have been promised a trio of new models by the end of the decade, which will open their business to a wider customer base.

Since going on sale on August 1, 2006, the facelifted Sorento has been slowly finding its feet as Kia dealers sell the few remaining models of the old SUV.

Mazda’s soft-top MX-5 has always been popular and highly regarded. With the introduction of a folding hard-top variant, the MX-5 Roadster Coupé, the carmaker extends its appeal to the weather/security conscious.

After a five-year gap, the Honda Legend is back in the UK.