Cars in Action has reached a pretty significant milestone — our tenth birthday. So we decided to do something a little different for once — something that not only salutes our first decade, but it's also an exercise that defines our focus and redefines our core values, too.

Welcome to Cars in Action's Ten Best — our favourite ten cars from our first ten years...

The rules were simple: select our ten top cars with every represented marque only allowed one model each. So that cuts out something like having four BMWs, three Porsches and two Subarus in here and thereby allowing a more diverse, more interesting selection of cars...

So yes, there may be one or two obvious omissions, but generally they're represented here by adequate siblings in their respective ranges and if there's something missing, there's a good reason — or we reckon that car just isn't good enough.

It took five minutes to choose our Ten Best — no argument, not much discussion, just a happy agreement and conclusion. And as I write this, we still feel our choice is right — there is nothing not here that really should be here. If you don't agree, sorry for you - it's our party and we chose what we want to! If you disagree, let us know — we're most interested to hear your view too...

We had a unanimous ten-way decision, but while choosing them was easy, getting these fine cars together was another issue. So when they did eventually come together at Kyalami, we really had ten good reasons to celebrate — in more ways than one!

And no, this is not a shootout or comparison test in typical Cars in Action fashion, it's a celebration, a gathering of our ten favourite friends made in the past ten years to celebrate our highlights of that fine decade.

There are no losers here, just winners — each and every one a milestone through a very special era...

1. 1997 TOYOTA COROLLA RSi
Hands up all of you who remember the first ever issue of Cars in Action? That fiery manifestation boasted a yellow BMW M3 above a red Corolla RSi. The RSi was there for damn good reason, too — one of a tiny handful of cars then boasting over 100bhp per litre. And it was a conventional family car at that — a real super saloon and then some. A brilliant road car, RSi was a giant killer of note on track too, something that built it an undeniable pedigree and reputation to assure it a place in this hallowed feature. Corolla RSi belongs here without shadow of doubt...

2. 1997 HONDA BALLADE V-TEC
Like Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the Honda Ballade V-TEC and Toyota Corolla RSi have always been coupled at the tote. Both similarly specifically powerful above that magic 100bhp/litre mark, both were deadly rivals on the racetrack and both still are very much the focus of deliriously faithful rival cults. So why break so long a tradition? If RSi belongs here then V-TEC certainly does, too. Also a star of that milestone first issue of Cars in Action, its road test photograph was the first to have us in hot water, the subject being more than a metre in the air. But that certainly helped elevate V-TEC to the correct level in our readers' eyes!

Car: 1997 Honda Ballade V-Tec
Engine: 1595cc DOHC 16-valve Inline-4
Power: 118Nm @ 7800rpm
Torque: 160Nm @ 7400rpm
Specific Power: 74kW per litre
Power to Weight: 100kW per tonne
0-100km/h: 8.1 seconds
Maximum Speed: 205km/h
Fuel average: 11.3 l/100km

3. 2005 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF GTI
Ten years ago, The VW Golf GTI hardly made a blip on our radar. Barely the shadow of its great, former self, Volkswagen had squandered the badge. The Golf 4 GTI turned things around and then Golf 5, well it gave us GTI back and then some! If the original GTI was an icon, then the new one is even more so a legend. Still the ultimate hot hatch even though every other man and his dog now make their own, the latest turbo direct-injection 2.0-litre Golf GTI complete with tomorrow's gearbox as an option, the 2006 Cars in Action Performance car of the year runner-up, is a chic, stylish and wickedly capable performer...

Car: 2005 Volkswagen Golf GTI DSG
Engine: 1984cc DOHC 16-valve turbo Inline-4
Power: 147kW @ 5300rpm
Torque: 284Nm @ 1800rpm
Specific Power: 76kW per litre
Power to Weight: 112kW per tonne
0-100km/h: 6.9sec
Maximum Speed: 235km/h
Fuel average: 8.4/100km

4. 1998 SUBARU IMPREZA GT SPORTSWAGON
Subaru has plenty in common with Cars in Action. It arrived in SA more or less when we started and all along we’ve enjoyed a love affair with that quirky brand that's best of all at building cars that first and foremost thrill the driver. Impreza and STi best epitomise that great pedigree in their symmetrical viscous AWD turbo boxer-four glory, dodgy looks, lunchbox finishes and all. Driver's cars through and through, the earliest models still had looks worth writing home for, so technical editor Mario Lupini's beloved MY98 Sportwagon — in effect Impreza's answer to the hot hatch — represents one of our favourite cars off all in this most relevant meeting of the greats...

Car: 1998 Subaru Impreza GT Sportwagon Engine: 1994cc DOHC 16-valve turbo Boxer-4 Power: 160kW @ 5600rpm Torque: 300Nm @ 4000rpm Specific Power: 80kW per litre Power to Weight: 120kW per tonne 0-100km/h: 5.9 sec ¼-mile (g): 15.1 sec @ 156km/h Maximum Speed: 230km/h Fuel average: 11.6 l/100km

5. 2006 MITSUBISHI LANCER EVO 9
Like V-TEC and RSi, Impreza and Evo would not be what they are without the other to keep it on its toes. But unlike the Subaru that arrived here ten years back, it took Evo a while longer to get here to bring that great feud onto local roads and rally stages, but Evo's here now and cannot be ignored. Evo, like its great rival, is nothing much more than a scantly disguised road legal rally weapon. We reckon all cars should be bred that faithfully. The purist car for the purist driver - that's what Cars in Action is here for. And that's also why this bonkers everyday supercar is in this illustrious group — it more than just earns its place...

Car: 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9
Engine: 1998cc DOHC 16-valve turbo Inline-4
Power: 206kW @ 6500rpm
Torque: 390Nm @ 3500rpm
Specific Power: 100kW per litre
Power to Weight: 142kW per tonne
0-100km/h: 5.7 seconds
¼-mile (g): 14.7 seconds @ 161km/h
Maximum Speed: 250km/h
Fuel average: 10.1 l/100km