41 VW Touran: A sensible, upright and very useful family car

The Touran is another sensible, upright family car that finishes higher up this list than some of the show-ponies simply because it is so useful. Space is little short of excellent, with plenty of room in the back seats even for taller passengers, but those clambering into the boot seats, as ever in this class of car, will need to be kids if they’re to survive anything but a very short journey.

The 2.0-litre TDI models have punchy performance and surprisingly good CO2 emissions, but the 1.6-litre diesel will be the default choice, and probably the correct one. Not an exciting car by any stretch, but one that is uncommonly good at carrying out its varied duties.

Price range: €29,725 to €40,645

CO2 emissions: 112 to 126g/km

Which one? 1.6 TDI Comfortline