The fat lady hasn’t sung Auld Lang Syne yet, so here are the UK’s top selling cars of 2009 for the year to date. Since we’re dabbling in nostalgia, we’ve also got 1999’s greatest hits for you.
So what have 10 years done to our buying habits? Well, while we’re supersizing at McDonald’s, it’s quite a different story on the forecourts. Ford and GM still dominate the top 10, but both brands’ big saloons drop well down the pecking order, to be replaced by smaller cars.
The top four haven’t changed a bit, but both small-fry Fiesta and Corsa are now out-selling their bigger brothers Focus and Astra, while Renault has dropped out of the running altogether. It’s hard to imagine our roads without the Mini which now busts into the top 10, but it was still a glint in BMW’s product planners’ eyes in 1999.
One mystery from the last decade remains – exactly when did minicab drivers and policemen lose first dibs on white cars?
2009’s Top 10 (year to date)
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1999’s Top 10
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1) Ford Fiesta
2) Ford Focus
3) Vauxhall Corsa
4) Vauxhall Astra
5) Volkswagen Golf
6) Peugeot 207
7) BMW 3-series
8) Mini
9) Vauxhall Insignia
10) Ford Mondeo
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1) Ford Focus
2) Ford Fiesta
3) Vauxhall Astra
4) Vauxhall Corsa
5) Vauxhall Vectra
6) Ford Mondeo
7) Renault Mégane
8) Renault Clio
9) Volkswagen Golf
10) Peugeot 206
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Source: SMMT, all figures UK