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In a segment that is essentially the largest in the Irish market, it is very hard to beat Ford Focus, and in the early selling this year that still didn't happen, with the model registering 2,721 sales, even though that is a significant drop of 14.5 per cent compared to January-February 2002.

But this year, aided by having a full range of cars, Toyota's Corolla (2,515) made a good attempt at tipping the Ford crown, and with that representing a 70 per cent improvement, as the year rolls out it suggests a neck-and-neck contest.