THE latest European car sales figures show that British buyers are among those leading the charge towards recovery and that the size of the cars we choose continues to shrink.
Just a few years ago the most popular models on the region's roads were family cars such as the Ford Mondeo, Vauxhall Vectra and Volkswagen Passat.
Now buyers are downsizing in their droves with superminis rather than family models accounting for the lion's share of all sales.
The surge in sales of the smallest cars coincides with the ongoing effects of the recession, greater environmental awareness and the dramatic improvements in the roominess, safety and equipment levels of smaller cars.
This has been made possible by modern manufacturing techniques that enable the occupants of superminis to be just as well protected as those in large limousines whilst enjoying the sort of equipment levels that were once the preserve of premium saloons.
The most popular car is now the Volkswagen Golf. The 1.4-litre entry-model costs £13,585 and gets a top five-star EuroNCAP safety rating.
Equipment includes alloy wheels, air conditioning, front, side and curtain airbags, electric windows and a CD sound system with MP3 compatibility plus the reassurance of traction control and electronic stability programme.
The rest of the Top Ten best sellers are similarly safe and well equipped and comprise the Fiesta, Corsa, Peugeot 207, Clio, Focus, Punto, Fabia, Panda and Vauxhall Astra.
The latest figures and analysis from automotive data provider Jato Dynamics reveal that the Golf has now held the top slot for five consecutive months but could be overtaken in the popularity stakes by the Fiesta with sales up by more than a third last month.
Sales of the Golf have increased by 17 per cent so far this year but those of the Fiesta have soared by 37 per cent, making the feisty Ford the star performer of 2009.
However, this has been achieved to some degree at the expense of Ford's larger Focus model, with buyers downsizing away from the compact class in favour of smaller superminis at the rate of 21 per cent in the case of the Focus.
Vauxhall is experiencing a similar shift downwards, with last month's 16 per cent surge in Corsa sales coming at the expense of a 24 per cent drop in larger Astra sales so far this year.
Although overall sales for the year so far are down in most of the largest European markets with the exception of Germany, British buyers are among those reversing the trend.
Sales in the UK in general were up by six per cent last month, which compares with a rise of 28 per cent in Germany, seven per cent in France, eight per cent in Italy and about one per cent in Spain.
The most significant change in recent years has been that Japanese cars have been squeezed out of the best-sellers' list, which now includes only European-made models although this could change with the remarkable resurgence of newcomers from Korea.