The ten best-selling cars of 2014

2014 has seen another sales bonanza for the UK car market, which appears determined to prop up the anaemic economy with month after month of consecutive growth. Handy, that - it's worth a cool £64billion in turnover every 12 months.

Car sales have been on the up-and-up for 34 months on the spin, and registrations beat the whole of 2013's total by the end of November this year. So, just who has shifted the most metal in 2014? Here's what you're buying, Britain:

Scream about the Juke's praying mantis looks until you're blue in the face, there are still more lovers than haters. A subtle facelift and better engines in mid-2014 have propelled Nissan's weeniest crossover into the top 10. 

Ahh, bless. A stalwart of the sales charts recently freshened with a lick of paint and tweaked engines, the evergreen 500's cute looks and impressive build quality ensure it's the only genuine city car (and the sole Italian offering) among Britain's top ten.

Another year, another record-breaking 12 months of sales from Ingolstadt's finest to put the wind up Jaguar, BMW and Mercedes. Blessed with an interior of minimalist delight and the option of petrol, diesel or hybrid power, the smart-suited A3 is the top-selling ‘premium-badged' car in the UK.

We wouldn't blame you for not noticing the VW Polo has been facelifted. Nevertheless, Volkswagen's anonymous but bank-vault-spec supermini has climbed from 9th to 7th in the annual best-selling list as a result.

Good news all-round for the British car industry: your sixth most-favourite car is the British-built crossover king, now sharper looking, nicer inside and much more refined to boot. Nissan actually built 286,477 of the things in 2014, showing what an export powerhouse the UK industry has become.

Predictably, Vauxhall's family hatch is right up there again in 2014. The Ellesmere Port factory celebrated building its five millionth car this year, and, you guessed it - the milestone was an Astra.

No doubt aided by a few juicy lease deals for the sensational Golf R, VW's familiar hatch is selling like the proverbial warm confectionary - and deservedly so in accomplished Mk7 form.

No - it's not a mistake - we really did mean to put a picture of the old Corsa up there. Despite its creaking age ensuring it's way off the pace of the rest of the class, Brits just can't help themselves buying Vauxhall's 'mini. Small wonder the new version, which arrived late in 2014, looks so similar.

Solid at the runner-up spot for another year is the cracking Focus - which now looks as good as it drives thanks to a midlife nip-tuck.

Once again, Ford's baby reigns supreme. And why shouldn't it? Whether you pick a 1.0-litre triple-cylinder version, or the flagship ST hot hatch, the Fiesta is a ride and handling benchmark. With sales up over 10,000 units on last-year's winning total, Britain's love affair with the Fiesta shows no sign of slowing.