Britain’s long affair with cars shows no sign of waning with 81 per cent of drivers saying they love their cars.
The Opinium survey* of over 2000 UK drivers found that some drivers prefer their car to nights out with family and friends and even going on holiday. They also love their car as they can sing at the top of their voice (twice as many women than men say this), escape the everyday stresses of life, and perhaps tellingly, it is because their car never lets them down.
Women (84%) were only slightly more likely than men (79%) to say they loved their car with most of the answers between the sexes very similar.
Commissioned by InsuretheGap, a leading supplier of GAP (Guaranteed Asset Protection) insurance for new and second-hand cars, the survey reveals the top ten reasons that drivers love their cars as:
Gives a sense of freedom (53%)
It’s better than getting the bus (48%)
It never lets me down (21%)
Can escape the everyday stresses of life when driving (17%)
I get to choose the music (17%)
It feels like a reward for working hard (12%)
It’s the only place I can sing at the top of my voice (9% in total, male 6% v female 12%)
It’s the most high-tech thing I own and is beautifully manufactured (9%)
It gives me more joy than holidays / meals out / seeing friends and family (8%)
I bought it as a present to myself as I love driving (8%)
Ben Wooltorton, Chief Operating Office of InsuretheGap.com, said: “It seems that we don’t just rely on our cars to get us from A to B, it’s much more than that. Our cars are one of the few places we can escape to and enjoy either some solitude or sing along to our favourites tunes uninterrupted.
“With four out of five people saying they love their cars, and some saying their cars give them more joy than seeing family and friends, a romantic drive may be on the cards for many this Valentine’s Day,” he said.
