2000s

The Lotus Elise put a glassfibre body on a bonded aluminium chassis that weighed 68 kilograms, gave it 118 bhp and 725 kilograms, and saved the company for twenty-five years. A guide to the S1, S2 and S3, the 111S and the Cup cars, what an Elise is like to live with, what to check, and what the sale rooms pay now that the first cars are classics.

The Ford Focus RS is the fast Ford of the twenty-first century, three generations of it from the 4,501-car Mk1 of 2002 to the 345 bhp four-wheel-drive Mk3 of 2016, with the matte-black RS500 between and the ST170 and ST before them. A guide to what each one is, how they drive, what to check, and what the sale rooms pay now that the first cars are classics.

The first Land Rover Freelander was a monocoque, transverse-engined soft-roader built at Solihull from 1997 to 2006, and for five years Europe's best-selling 4x4. A guide to the 1.8 K-series, the L-series and Td4 diesels and the KV6, the three-door Softback and the five-door, the 2003 facelift, the famous faults, and what a survivor is worth now that the first ones are classics.

The MINI Cooper S R53 put an Eaton supercharger on the first BMW-era MINI and made a 163 bhp hot hatch out of it, built at Cowley and sold from 2002 to 2006. A guide to the R50 it grew from, the 2004 facelift, the John Cooper Works kits and the 2006 GP, what goes wrong, and what they are worth now that the first of them are classics.

The Ford Mondeo ST220 put a 223 bhp 3.0 V6, a six-speed gearbox and Recaro seats into the Mk3 Mondeo and turned a rep's saloon into a car worth keeping. A guide to the ST220 and the Mk2 ST200 that preceded it, the saloon, hatchback and estate, the ST TDCi, what goes wrong, and what they are worth.