Old nameplates returning to form

Running through some cars experiencing good growth is a bit like looking at a new car guide from early 2000s.

In the light car segment there's the relaunched Suzuki Baleno, with 1043 incremental sales - enough for a respectable 4.3 per cent share, ahead of the Ford Fiesta and Holden Barina.

The trend is more pronounced in the small car segment. The reborn Holden Astra has 2327 sales, ahead of the Ford Focus and enough for 3.7 per cent market share (though not enough to offset to 3880 the defunct Cruze over the same period last year).

Then there's a pair of resurgent nameplates, which never went away but which are experiencing good sales growth in their much more impressive new generations.

These are the Honda Civic with 3475 units and the Subaru Impreza with 4049, up 568 per cent and 124 per cent respectively.

Then there's the reborn Suzuki Ignis with 973 incremental sales, putting it ahead of better-known entrants such as the Ford EcoSport and Nissan Juke.

Another stable that's returned is the Ford Escape (nee Kuga) with 1428 sales, though based on our recent comparison it should have more market share than 3 per cent.

Another sort-of reborn nameplate is the Abarth 124, with 138 sales (compared to 563 units for the MX-5).

Listen to the CarAdvice team discuss April's sales figures below, and catch more like this at caradvice.com/podcast.

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