1. All I want for Christmas?

I’m guessing that the credit crunch has a lot do with my sitting at the wheel of a Ferrari. No, they haven’t started selling them 50 per cent off at Woolworths or throwing them in with fire-sale MFI kitchens.

2. Can Insignia make its mark?

It's hard to imagine that General Motors had any idea just how good the new Vauxhall Insignia would have to be when it first appeared as a doodle on a designer’s sketchpad four or five years ago.

3. Fiat gets a boost

Sitting dead centre of the dash in the Fiat Grande Punto Abarth is a button marked “Sport Boost”.

4. Sing a song of Ssangyong

Ssangyong has struggled to get into second gear in the United Kingdom – and so does the Kyron I’m given the opportunity to drive.

5. Spend a penny

It's hard to put a price on feeling smug but I know that the self-satisfied smile on my face is costing me exactly one pence per mile.

6. Swift by name and nature

Say the word Suzuki and most people will still imagine Manga-style thrills and spills on a motorcycle.

7. Superb lives up to its name

The joke’s well and truly over for Skoda – now it’s aiming for the last laugh when it comes to luxury rivals.

8. This is a journey to avoid

Our unique relationship with the United States of America has been even more biased than the referees at Manchester United games of late.

9. Funky fun for the school run

The Koleos might sound like the bad punchline from a joke about cauliflower and chaos, but it’s actually Renault’s recent entry into the burgeoning market for school-run off-roaders.

It goes head-to-head with cars such as the Ford Kuga, VW Tiguan and Peugeot 4007 – all designed for families who like the chunky superiority of Range Rover-esque road-goers but lack the financial wherewithal to either buy them or fill them up.

10. Porsche doesn’t disappoint

This is the Porsche which proper men aren’t supposed to like, but I couldn’t get enough of it.