The latest new cars sales figures released this week showed that Australia's new car market is on track for a record year.

However, it also showed a familiar story.

Sales darlings such as the Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i30, Toyota HiLux and Mazda CX-5 yet again dominated sales in their respect segments.

It is hard to pick apart the logic of new car buyers as these are some great options. But there are cars that offer the same if not more in most departments but are often ignored for their more popular rivals.

For instance, in last year's Drive Car of the Year awards a brace of new models from Ford swept the competition, including the overall award. But many of these and other winners have failed to make any headway in terms of sales against their more well known rivals.

Skoda Fabia

The light car segment is big business, as made evident by the sales success of long-term favourites the Mazda2 and Toyota Yaris.

However, one sales struggler sticks out, the Skoda Fabia which has sold only 308 units so far through the start of May 2016.

The Fabia shares its underpinnings with the Volkswagen Polo, a car which outsells it nine-to-one.

The Fabia, in fact, is cheaper. It starts at $15,990 compared to the Polo's $16,990. It is powered by the same engine and yet its interior is better equipped and more practical.

It has great fuel economy, sipping a claimed 4.8L/100km, has an impressive list of standard safety equipment that puts it on par with many of its competitors.

Skoda is by no means a sexy car brand in Australia, with buyers in this safe mainstream segment sticking with what they know and what they see.

Ford Focus

The Ford Focus sits in Australia's largest and most competitive car segment; the last two years the overall bestseller has turned into a battle between the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla, so the Focus faces some stiff competition.

However, the Focus was last year's winner of Drive's Best Small Car award, where it competed against the 3 and Corolla. These two regularly trounce the Focus in the sales department with the current clubhouse leader, the Corolla, outselling it almost seven-to-one.

In a segment that contributes almost 18 per cent of new cars sales so far this year, the Focus has just a three per cent share of the small car market.

Its price is competitive enough, starting from $23,390, slightly more than the base 3 and Hyundai i30, but comes more generously equipped in base Trend form.

The Focus features an frugal yet punchy new turbo engine and auto transmission, good driving nous and a quality interior.

But in a category where buyers lean towards the functional and the pragmatic, they also seem to lean heavily to the trusted reliability of Toyota, the style of the Mazda and the value of the Hyundai.

Suzuki Vitara

The fourth-generation Suzuki Vitara is the brand's best car. Suzuki is a brand which has been under-rated and dismissed for too long within small car categories, but the Vitara brought fresh styling and improved driving dynamics and a heightened level of gear.

It was even a surprise winner at the last year's Drive Car of the Year Awards, taking out the Best Small SUV category over the likes of the Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3.

Speaking of the Mazda CX-3, the current sales leader, it outsells the Vitara at a rate of four-to-one.

It only has two level grades starting from $21,990, which is more expensive than the base CX-3 but cheaper than the entry-level HR-V.

It scores well based on value, space, flexibility and long-term ownership credentials which make it a perfect allrounder, even with its quirky looks.

The Vitara deserves to better than the seventh best seller in its segment.

Kia Sorento

Large family SUVs need to have space, comfort, practicality and represent good value. The Kia Sorento ticks those boxes.

Getting into a seven-seat SUV for a little more than $40,000 is a solid proposition for large families. But adding to that value is Kia's first-class ownership credentials including a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and 15,000km/yearly service intervals.

This however isn't enough to win over all buyers. The Toyota Kluger - its most comparable rival - has more than three times the amount of sales through 2016.

This is despite the Kluger's steeper price and lack of diesel variants.

Hyundai's Santa Fe, which shares the same underpinnings as the Sorento, also manages to move nearly twice as many units as the Sorento.

Kia may have an image problem with potential buyers, but it's not the fault of vehicles like the Sorento.

Mazda BT-50

Besides small cars the other sales goliath are utes, especially dual cabs. The dominate forces being the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, which have each sold in excess of 9000 4x4 so far this year.

But sitting some 6000 shy of these two is the Ford Ranger's cousin, the Mazda BT-50.

The BT-50 is let down by its cabin and no one has said that the BT-50 is much to look at, but it is cheaper.

While the Ranger is generally regarded as a superior package, it shares the same mechanical underpinnings as the BT-50, meaning the Mazda is still a better than average dual cab ute.

And while the Ranger is a class leader the Mazda still trails other vehicles less favourably reviewed by Drive's road testers such as the Holden Colorado, Isuzu D-Max and Nissan Navara.

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