The Top Ten Auto Show: Season 1, EP. 13 - Best Selling Cars of 2000 - video Dailymotion

Men and Motors

This week on The Top Ten Auto Show, Dave Lee Travis and Ginny Buckley talk us through the Men & Motors panel of top ten best selling cars in the UK for the year 2000!  Don't forget to subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell so you never miss a video!  ------------------ Enjoyed this video? Don't forget to LIKE and SHARE the video and get involved with our community by leaving a COMMENT below the video!   Check out what else our channel has to offer and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE to Men & Motors for more classic car and motorbike content! Why not? It is free after all!  Our website: http://menandmotors.com/  ---- Social Media ----  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/menandmotors/ Instagram: @menandmotorstv Twitter: @menandmotorstv  If you have any questions, e-mail us at talk@menandmotors.com  © Men and Motors - One Media iP 2023

Transcript

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00:33 Hello, and welcome to the Top 10 Auto Show.

00:36 DLT here with the chart rundown to end our series.

00:40 We've looked at all sorts of top 10 categories

00:42 from 4x4s to convertibles.

00:44 And this week, from figures supplied by the Society

00:46 of Motor Manufacturers and Traders,

00:48 we present the top 10 best-selling cars in the UK

00:51 for the year 2000.

00:53 Will your car be in our countdown?

00:55 Can you guess which is number one?

00:56 Keep watching.

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01:06 At number 10, the solid German prop of the car world,

01:10 the Volkswagen Golf.

01:11 Now in its fourth incarnation, it looks really smart.

01:14 But the car has put some weight on over the years.

01:17 So even in the GTI guise, it hasn't got that much pep

01:20 anymore.

01:21 The Golf is far too sophisticated for that market

01:24 now.

01:24 Just look inside at the sophisticated yet simple

01:27 styling, ergonomic controls.

01:29 Plus, there's a far better quality of materials

01:32 used than in the previous models.

01:34 This is now a mini-exec, for goodness sake.

01:37 Absolutely.

01:38 The Volkswagen Golf is now part of the well-heeled

01:40 establishment, a no-nonsense and predictable car,

01:44 but with a real upmarket presence.

01:47 Upmarket?

01:48 Surely, if you wanted prestige, you'd

01:49 have gone for an Audi A3.

01:51 OK, it's based on the same platform as the Golf,

01:54 and it shares quite a few parts.

01:55 But at least the A3 isn't everywhere on the roads

01:58 like the ubiquitous Golf.

02:00 Volkswagen have revised the existing five-cylinder,

02:03 10-valve unit so that each cylinder now has four valves.

02:07 And this multi-valve technology means

02:09 that the engine revs more smoothly and more freely,

02:11 giving you a lot more power at the top end.

02:14 And you can really feel the benefits to it.

02:16 The engine is absolutely superb.

02:18 Whichever gear you're in now, this thing just pulls.

02:20 It is amazing.

02:22 And the added benefit, as well, is

02:24 that it's a more economic unit than the old 150 brake

02:27 horsepower one.

02:28 So it's a bonus all around, really.

02:30 There's one very good reason for choosing the Golf

02:38 against the rivals.

02:39 It continues to enjoy less depreciation

02:41 than any others in its class.

02:44 Not that you want to sell it, though.

02:45 You'll enjoy long journeys in those supportive front seats,

02:48 though rear seat passengers will be a bit cramped.

02:51 Plus, if power beneath the pedal is what you desire,

02:53 we say, ignore the GTI.

02:57 So the Volkswagen Golf, number 10 in our chart

03:00 of the best-selling cars of the year 2000.

03:03 At number nine, we cross the border from Germany

03:18 into France to greet the Renault Clio,

03:20 one of the first in its class to don the mantle supermini.

03:23 The Clio was originally an astonishing fresh face

03:26 to the class, a face that was made over to its latest

03:29 version back in 1998.

03:41 Though not the class leader it once

03:43 was due to stiff competition from many quarters,

03:46 the latest Clio is still a very popular small car,

03:49 especially with the lady drivers.

03:51 Now, this isn't being sexist.

03:53 These are the statistics.

03:55 Maybe women appreciate the Clio's chic curves,

03:58 as well as the practicality which sometimes

04:00 men seem to put last on their list.

04:03 Ooh, that hurts.

04:05 Moving on swiftly, value for money is another plus

04:07 in the Clio's favour as well,

04:09 with base prices at about 7.5 grand,

04:11 rising to over 12 grand for the 1.6 Etoile,

04:14 which goes like a rocket.

04:16 One of the most popular Clios, though,

04:18 is the 1.4 16 valve Elise with five doors,

04:21 air conditioning, power steering,

04:22 and electric windows for under 10 grand.

04:26 Now, if you've ever driven a Clio before,

04:27 you'll already know how good it is.

04:29 So the designers and engineers at Renault

04:31 have had to work very hard to make the new Clio

04:33 even better, and they've succeeded

04:36 with a whole new platform, a new body,

04:38 and a new suspension.

04:41 But what's the Clio like to drive?

04:43 Well, it offers tidy handling and is pretty refined

04:46 at cruising, but the manual gear stick is a little

04:49 rubbery and has such a long throw.

04:52 And while we are in niggle land,

04:53 the interior plastics are very, very nasty

04:56 and grey, very, very grey.

05:00 But if this doesn't bother you,

05:01 there are plenty of pluses that the Clio offers.

05:04 So that's why folks are buying it in droves,

05:06 and that's why it's into number nine in our chart.

05:20 Setting up our chart of the top-selling cars

05:22 from the year 2000, and at the number eight position,

05:25 is the Renault Megane.

05:26 A recent facelift has added more purposeful lines

05:29 to the styling of the Renault Megane,

05:31 although some cruel critics have said that the cutouts

05:33 at the front of the bonnet make it look like a sort of

05:35 weird jack-o'-lantern.

05:37 Well, at least the front of any of the Renault range

05:39 now form a distinctive image in your rear-view mirror

05:42 when one's behind you.

05:44 If you're tall, you may find the seats rather uncomfortable,

05:46 and very uncomfortable if you have to sit in the back.

05:49 Now, what is it about these car designers?

05:52 Don't they realise that full-sized adults have to sit

05:55 in the back of cars as well as the front?

05:58 An extra inch, believe me, would make all the difference.

06:02 Now, where have I heard that phrase before?

06:04 But behind the driving seat, once you get used to that position,

06:07 you'll enjoy a perky on-road experience.

06:10 I'd even say it was fun to drive.

06:11 It's a car that loves to be thrown round corners.

06:14 Thrown around responsibly, I hope.

06:17 Though you'll know that if you were involved in an accident,

06:19 caused by somebody else, of course,

06:21 because the revised Megane has had excellent crash-test results.

06:25 The Renault Megane, number eight in the top-selling cars of the year 2000.

06:30 We're at number seven in our charts, ladies and gentlemen,

06:46 and we present the Ford Mondeo.

06:48 Now, the fact that you see these cars everywhere may make you think,

06:51 "Why is it only number seven in the charts?"

06:53 Well, you must remember, these are the best-selling cars for the year 2000,

06:57 so these figures are based on the previous Mondeo model.

07:00 Maybe many buyers were waiting for this, the astonishing new Ford Mondeo,

07:04 which seems to be taking the world by storm.

07:07 Join us next year, and I wonder where the car will be in the sales charts then.

07:11 So let's flip the pictures back to the previous model,

07:14 because I know some people who prefer these curvy lines

07:17 to the rather sharp, new-edge styling that Ford have now forced on their entire model range.

07:23 The Ford Mondeo was designed to be a world car,

07:26 with the same shape, kit and name right across the globe.

07:30 Although, curiously, in the world's biggest car market, America,

07:34 they decided not to call it a Mondeo, but a Contour.

07:38 But what's in a name?

07:39 The fact is that the Ford Mondeo has been, since Mark I, a great seller,

07:43 because it's been so well designed and has been offered at such a good price.

07:47 It has been, and will be for some time, I'm sure,

07:50 a benchmark of the class with superb driver appeal.

07:53 Plenty of space inside, and it's reasonably cheap to run and to service.

07:58 OK, the base models may not exactly inspire the driving enthusiast,

08:02 but for a fleet sales manager with his or her eye on the bottom line,

08:05 the Ford Mondeo is a very sensible business choice.

08:09 Inside the Mondeo cabin, everything falls to hand,

08:12 which makes the car very easy to drive.

08:14 The quality of the plastics could have been better,

08:17 but of course, these matters have been vastly improved in the 2001 model.

08:21 On the road, the Mondeo is competent,

08:23 and sometimes surprises with its agility and crisp throttle response.

08:28 And of course, if you really wanted performance in your Ford Mondeo,

08:31 you'd plump for the sporting version of the car, the ST200,

08:34 introduced back in 1999,

08:36 which not only have plenty of subtle boy racer styling cues,

08:40 but also has incredible performance and a trackside style engine noise.

08:46 Now that the 2001 model is out,

08:48 the earlier version offers tremendous value for money on the second-hand market.

08:52 Although the new version is a great improvement on the previous,

08:55 there's nothing wrong with this version of the Mondeo,

08:58 and it makes a great, sensible buy.

09:00 The Ford Mondeo, number 7 in the top-selling cars of the year 2000.

09:05 [Music]

09:12 And at number 6 in the chart, here's the Vauxhall Vectra,

09:21 overtaking the Ford Mondeo in the fast lane.

09:24 Remember when the car was first launched,

09:26 and so many people showed anger and indifference to the styling?

09:30 "Oh, it's like the old Cavalier with different mirrors."

09:33 Well, most of those people are eating their words now,

09:35 as the Vectra has become a consistent top-seller for years.

09:38 It's well-built, has reasonable value, and can offer thrilling performance.

09:42 Thrilling. Well, maybe that's a bit too strong a word,

09:45 but considering that this car has been mostly designed for the mass fleet market,

09:49 I'd say that the company Carbrigade has been offered a pretty decent motor for their money.

09:54 Especially now the latest version offers over 2,000 improvements.

09:58 It doesn't look much different from the original model,

10:00 apart from slightly smaller headlights and slightly different rear styling.

10:04 But inside, the dash has been improved to make it more attractive,

10:08 with the use of better materials, and there's more space for those rear passengers.

10:13 At last, someone has listened to the needs of the rear-seaters.

10:16 In that engine compartment, the 1.8 petrol recently introduced has been the real star of the show,

10:21 accounting for most of the sales of the Vauxhall Vectra over 2000.

10:25 It gives reasonable economy with all the pulling power you'd need for average business and family driving.

10:30 If you were doing long mileages, the 2-litre turbo diesel will be your bet here,

10:34 and that engine's been updated as well.

10:36 Oh, you boys with your engines. It's not all about speed and power.

10:41 It's about image, and for some reason the Vauxhall badge doesn't seem to have

10:45 quite the same stylish appeal as any of the German marks.

10:49 Although, of course, the Vauxhall brand in Germany is called Opel,

10:52 where it's actually pretty middle market.

10:54 The upshot of this situation, though, to UK used buyers,

10:57 is that you get a quality car at a cut-down price,

11:00 with incredible depreciation after a year or two.

11:03 Of course, if you're buying new, make sure that you hold on to it,

11:07 so you don't take that hit to your wallet at resale time.

11:11 But no matter how much the press go on about Vauxhall's bland styling and very conservative looks,

11:16 there's no doubting the fact that the Vectra is still a very popular car,

11:19 and that's why it's number six in our top-selling cars for the year of 2000.

11:24 (music)

11:26 Join us after the break when we run down the top five.

11:34 Can you guess what's the number one car?

11:36 See you after the break.

11:38 Hello, and welcome back to the Top Ten Auto Show,

11:49 the last in the series looking at the top ten selling cars in the UK for the year 2000.

11:54 In at number five, it's this car, the distinctive-looking supermini cutie, the Peugeot 206.

12:14 And boy, doesn't this car look for business.

12:16 So far away from the rather square-jawed 205 that it replaced.

12:20 But of course, the Peugeot 206 was designed for a new generation of sophisticated supermini owners,

12:26 people with the kind of style and flair that maybe only the French could really pull off.

12:31 The 206 pulls together a combination of practicality and superb styling,

12:35 so no wonder it's made it into our top five of the best-selling cars of the year.

12:39 The success is no doubt built on the great following the 205 enjoyed

12:43 and has grown in sophistication with the previous owners.

12:46 Yes, those boy racers have grown up, they're now starting families and have smart new jobs,

12:51 so they need smart new motors to match as well.

12:54 And there is plenty of room in the front and rear,

12:57 great for a supermini and certainly better than Peugeot's cramped 106.

13:01 However, inside is where Peugeot's designers get the black marks,

13:05 for the rather ugly, grey, elephant-hide finish around the dashboard,

13:09 which really is pretty depressing.

13:11 However, the ergonomics of the controls are excellent,

13:14 and once you get behind the wheel, it's easy to find the controls you need

13:18 and to get onto the road to enjoy the 206's fantastic road manners.

13:23 The Peugeot 206 has, of course, the superb chassis that all Peugeots enjoy.

13:27 It enjoys the bends as much as the straights.

13:30 Now, of course, there is the GTI model in the range,

13:33 and while this doesn't give the go-kart experience of the 205,

13:36 it certainly gives driving pleasure and wonderful acceleration

13:39 in situations where it's safe to do so.

13:41 Fully laden, however, even the GTI 2.0-litre engine finds it a bit of a struggle,

13:46 but this car is really designed for short hops and city driving,

13:49 and not for the long haul.

13:51 We like the Peugeot 206, and it seems that you do as well,

13:55 so congratulations for making it into the top five.

13:59 But there are four more cars to go in our top ten.

14:01 What do you think they might be?

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14:07 At number four, the Vauxhall Corsa.

14:19 Now, this car is a perfect example of a result of harsh market forces,

14:23 which has resulted in Vauxhall having to make dramatic improvements

14:26 to their old boxy Corsa to keep their head above water.

14:29 The very first Corsa was appropriately named.

14:32 Very coarse, very nasty.

14:34 The fact is that all the manufacturers are scrambling to get our business,

14:38 and it's been great for the consumer.

14:40 The Vauxhall Corsa is fresh, far more refined, and it even drives well,

14:45 thanks to Lotus Engineering, who improved the suspension back in 1997.

14:49 However, ask a room of motoring journalists what they think of the Vauxhall Corsa,

14:53 and you may get some rather rude replies.

14:56 But of course, they aren't the people who've been buying this car

14:59 to get it to the number four position.

15:01 The average Corsa owner just needs a reliable, practical vehicle

15:04 that they'll probably keep for about three years

15:06 before deciding to swap it for a newer model.

15:08 Style, prestige, or even fun on the road

15:11 would probably have been minor factors in the purchase decision.

15:14 When you consider that the Vauxhall Corsa has been the choice

15:17 of so many driving schools around the country, it seems obvious

15:20 that the Corsa really has to be regarded as standard transport,

15:23 rather than making any kind of design statement.

15:26 At last, though, Vauxhall have made the interior a classier place to be.

15:30 It's got smart tiles and pleasant fabrics to cover the cabin area.

15:34 Plus, the latest models have the option of coming with the EZtronic system,

15:38 which is yet another variation on the half-manual,

15:41 half-automatic system of gear changing.

15:43 Now, before you buy one of these, though, take it for a long, long test drive,

15:48 as it is a hybrid system, which delights some, but can annoy many

15:52 who have been brought up with the standard manual or automatic Vaux.

15:56 So, at number four, the small but rather popular Vauxhall Corsa.

16:00 If you've just tuned in, you're watching the top ten best-selling cars of 2000,

16:17 with data supplied by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

16:21 And at number three, it's another Ford,

16:23 and it was last year's biggest seller, the Ford Fiesta.

16:26 If we are to believe statistics, then every adult in the UK

16:30 would have owned a Fiesta at some time in their driving life.

16:33 They seem to have been around forever.

16:36 Things really pick up out on the road in the Fiesta.

16:42 This 1.4 engine is very peppy and zips along at a nice old rate.

16:46 The chassis is well set up and just adds to the enjoyment.

16:49 You could certainly enjoy a cross-country dash in this car.

16:52 It doesn't feel at all out of place away from the metropolis.

16:55 It's maybe in town where perhaps the Fiesta has its biggest drawback,

16:59 because although it's got power-assisted steering,

17:02 it's not particularly light at low speeds,

17:05 which is not what you come to expect from a small car like this.

17:08 In 1999, Ford revised the Fiesta just in the nick of time,

17:12 as the competition in the sector was getting very fierce,

17:15 and the Ford Fiesta was getting very old.

17:17 The look of the latest Fiesta has a touch of the new edge,

17:20 but without going totally over the top.

17:22 So into our top two, and have you guessed the number one yet?

17:38 For at two, we welcome another from the General Motors stable,

17:42 the Vauxhall Astra.

17:44 This car, since its launch in 1998, has attracted many new owners,

17:48 who may well have been put off by its rather lacklustre heritage,

17:51 but the latest Vauxhall Astra is a cracker of a machine,

17:54 which offers big car entertainment in a small, manageable package.

17:58 Good to drive and very comfortable,

18:00 the Astra is a solid proposition and holds its value well.

18:12 Well, there's no doubt we're in an Astra.

18:14 You could trace it back probably to the original Mark I.

18:16 There's something immediately recognisable,

18:18 from the stalks behind the steering wheel,

18:20 just to the layout of the fascia.

18:22 It has been tweaked a little bit because this is a coupé,

18:24 but nothing over the top.

18:26 And that's just it.

18:27 Right from the external looks to the internal feel,

18:30 there's absolutely no sense of occasion to the Astra coupé.

18:33 You could just be driving an ordinary Astra hatch.

18:36 There's no drama, darlings.

18:40 Sensible cars will always be in demand,

18:43 and that's where, for the serious driver, the Astra falls behind.

18:47 It's rather too sensible.

18:49 Not a kind of car you could shout about in the pub,

18:52 but maybe just the trustworthy mode of transport

18:54 that simply gets you from A to B.

18:56 But the Vauxhall Astra will get you around in plenty of comfort,

18:59 and if you're thrashing the car around country bends,

19:02 you may even start to enjoy it.

19:04 It's just a shame that Vauxhall didn't spend as long

19:06 looking at the interior as they did on the car's driving ability.

19:10 The interior colours and trim are pretty uninspiring.

19:16 Dull, grey plastics and a basic design

19:19 could have been far better to give this car

19:21 the kind of young flair desperately needed

19:23 to enhance the image of the Vauxhall Astra.

19:25 But nothing can take away the fact

19:28 that the Vauxhall Astra is officially at number two

19:30 in the charts of the top-selling cars in the UK for 2000.

19:34 So, what is number one?

19:36 First of all, let's look at what cars are in the top ten.

19:40 At number ten, the Volkswagen Golf.

19:52 At number nine, France's finest, the stylish Renault Clio.

19:56 At number eight, another Renault in the shape of the revised Megane.

20:00 At number seven, the family favourite, the Mondeo.

20:04 At number six, the Vauxhall Vectra.

20:08 At number five, the sexy Peugeot 206.

20:12 At number four, the fresh-looking Lotus-tweaked Vauxhall Corsa.

20:16 At number three, down from the top slot of last year, the Ford Fiesta.

20:20 At number two, the agile Astra.

20:23 (MUSIC)

20:28 So, at number one, what else could it be but the Ford Focus?

20:35 It's hard to believe now that when this replacement

20:37 for the much-loved Ford Escort was revealed to the world,

20:40 there were many who thought that the world was not ready

20:43 for such a dramatic and astonishing new look.

20:46 But how wrong they were.

20:48 While Vauxhall stayed on the conservative styling route,

20:51 Ford branched off at the junction towards new-edge heaven.

20:54 Sharp angles and weird intersections on the outside of the body,

20:57 themed with the astonishing dashboard design inside.

21:01 Here's a car which has redefined the benchmark in the small-car sector

21:05 and has given other manufacturers a bloody nose

21:08 after they didn't believe that such a poor car as the Ford Escort

21:11 could be dramatically upstaged by its direct replacement.

21:15 Available now in the saloon and estate models,

21:18 there's an RS version coming soon,

21:20 which should promise to try to beat the big sporting car boys at their own game.

21:24 Congratulations, Ford, for all the hard work that has produced the Ford Focus

21:29 and a well-deserved number one bestseller in the year 2000 sales charts.

21:35 So, from Ginny and myself, we'll leave you with shots of the all-conquering Ford Focus.

21:39 And thank you for watching this series.

21:41 We'll be back for the new series of the Top Ten Auto Show soon.

21:45 Meanwhile, happy motoring. Goodbye.

21:47 Goodbye.

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The Top Ten Auto Show: Season 1, EP. 13 - Best Selling Cars of 2000

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