Cars under $30,000 arriving in 2011

Carsguide has sorted the genuinely new from the merely tarted up, the noteworthy from the non-entities and the relevant from the rest so families car buyers can chart the year ahead with certainty.

A sizeable proportion of 2011's new car action comes in the comely shape of things like Suzuki's Swift. Due in February, the new Swift is slightly bigger and heavier, but runs leaner and cleaner  it's also likely to be slightly more expensive from around $16,500.

If the work Kia's put in on its recent product is any guide, their new Rio will give the class leaders something to think about when it lobs mid-year with its six-speed transmissions and transformed fit and finish.

Hyundai's Accent-replacing i25 is here shortly after.  Hyundai's on a roll with the i35 sedan, i40 wagon and possibility of a hybrid i45 sedan.

The Daewoo Aveo (as the new Holden Barina is elsewhere known) gets here in five door form late in the piece, a much-needed replacement for the thoroughly outclassed current car. The new version of the car that once made the Barina badge worth buying, Opel's Corsa, lobs in the third quarter as the German company roll outs locally. 

Holden's Cruze sedan starts local production shortly, with the five door joining it later in the year.  General Motors has two more shots in its locker with the new version of Opel's much-loved Astra making a welcome return alongside the bigger Insignia sedan and possibly wagon.   Ford's riposte, the handsome and crucial new Focus, arrives some time later. 

The Mazda6 will gain the Sky-D direct injection turbo diesel that will challnge the Camry Hybrid for fuel economy, married to a new six-speed automatic transmission.  Be still our beating hearts - an "all-new" Toyota Camry is along later in the year.  And if not new per se, the market leading Toyota Yaris comes in for upgrades in the second half of the year.