Nissan is one of the last major manufacturers to reduce official list prices. There is a £450 reduction on Micra, £1,050 to £1,760 on Almera, up to £1,950 on the top-specification Primera and around £1,000 off Terrano 2. The ill-loved Serena MPV range is cut back to one model, the 2.3D Occasion, £800 cheaper at £15,200. Micra, Almera and Primera have, since last summer, been reduced by £800, £1,000 and £1,400 respectively. Last summer, Nissan said dealers would ask less but insisted it was not a list price cut. The premium for a 5dr Almera over the 4dr is increased by 50% from £500 to £750. A new derivative, the Almera Active, is added. Carrying a £345 premium over the base E, it adds a passenger airbag, electric sunroof, body-coloured bumpers and chrome door handles.

Daewoo is playing the same game with its mainstream models. List prices of Lanos, Nubira and Leganza dropped for 2001, but still do not compete with December's cash-back offers. The base Lanos is down £500 to £7,495. The Nubira CDX Estate is down £1,230 to £12,995, but that is £2,000 more than last month. The Leganza now starts at £12,495 for the SX – £1,230 less or £500 more than before, depending on which way you look at it.

Proton, with sales for 2000 down by 45%, has muddled its pricing policy in trying to halt the slump. Last year Protons were sold with a three-year warranty or were cheaper with 12-month cover. Now everything has changed to five-years, with Satria prices still low, starting from £6,999. Wiras are £500 to £1,200 more than the one-year warranty models and the coupe – only ever sold with the long warranty – is down £1,000, starting at £11,499. Wiras sold in the first three months of 2000 also get free servicing for three years. A new special-edition Satria, the Sprint, costs £10,299 and gets a 1.6-litre engine with the sports body and seats from the £12,999 Gti.

Isuzu prices come down because sales last year were down 40%. Base models – petrol and diesel 3dr – are down £1,150 to £17,950, while the top Insignia versions are cut by 10% or £3,000 to £26,950.

Volkswagen has launched the Lupo Gti, a 125bhp hot hatch listed at £12,995, with anti-lock brakes, twin airbags, remote locking, Xenon headlamps, power steering alloys and body kit.

Best selling small hot hatch in 2000 was the £11,795, 120bhp Citroen Saxo VTS.