New research shows the most popular car brands for young drivers, aged 18-25, in Scottish cities are Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Ford in that order.
Insurance comparison website Quotezone.co.uk found The Vauxhall Corsa is the favourite model, followed by the Volkswagen Polo and Ford Fiesta.
The data from Quotezone.co.uk is taken from a sample of nearly 2,700 young drivers in 2019-2020 across Scotland’s cities: Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Inverness, Stirling, Perth and Glasgow.
The only exceptions to Vauxhall, Volkswagen and Ford dominating the top three most popular spots are Glasgow which features Audi and Sterling with Peugeot – both in third place.
Founder of Quotezone.co.uk, Greg Wilson, comments: “A major consideration for young drivers is the cost of insuring their car, so you might assume that most would opt for a car in a very low insurance group, like a Volkswagen Up (usually insurance group 5 or lower), a Seat Mii (insurance group 4 or lower), or a Skoda Citigo (group 4 or lower).
“Interestingly, though, our data suggests young drivers in who do buy Volkswagens are more likely to splash for a Golf than an Up, even though Volkswagen Golfs tend to range from insurance group 18 up to group 31.
“Similarly, young drivers who opt for a Seat are more likely to buy a Seat Leon than a Mii, despite the fact that most Leons fall into insurance group 14 or higher.
“Still, while many young drivers might be open to paying a little more to insure a motor with a bigger engine, their relative inexperience or small no claims bonus means it’s still vital that they shop around to ensure they aren’t paying over the odds. Our aim is to bring more transparency to the insurance process by giving the power back to the customer, so they can easily see what is on offer across the market, then choose for themselves what suits them – at a competitive price.”
Quotezone.co.uk also sponsor the FirstCar Awards for young drivers – according to the awards, the most wanted new car of 2020 for young drivers is actually the Audi A1 followed by the Honda E and finally the Vauxhall Corsa. The most wanted used car was the Mini Hatch. Advice for young drivers plus this year’s winners announced here.
Young drivers can also take steps to help keep insurance premiums down such as;
- Parking the car overnight close to the house either in a private driveway or garage
- Opting for a slower car with a smaller engine
- Avoiding expensive ‘modifications’
- Choosing a car with an alarm, immobiliser and fit a tracker
- Exploring the use of a telematics insurance product
- Keeping mileage low
- Driving safely and avoid motoring convictions / build up a No Claims Bonus
- Considering completing the ‘Pass Plus’ or ‘RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Riders’ test
Recommended by 97% of reviewers, Quotezone.co.uk helps around 3 million users every year, with over 400 insurance brands across 60 different products including niche driver products such as Learner Driver Insurance, 4×4 insurance and Young Driver Insurance.
Young Driver Statistics, 18–25 year olds, in Scottish cities, top 3 most popular cars – make and model, across 2019/2020 from a sample size of nearly 2700.
Scottish City | Top Young Driver Make | Top Young Driver Model |
Aberdeen | 1 – Vauxhall | Corsa |
2 – Ford | Fiesta | |
3 -VW | Polo | |
Dundee | 1 – Ford | Fiesta |
2 – Vauxhall | Corsa | |
3 – VW | Polo | |
Edinburgh | 1 – Vauxhall | Corsa |
2 – Volkswagen | Polo | |
3 – Ford | Fiesta | |
Inverness | 1 – Volkswagen | Polo |
2 – Ford | Fiesta | |
3 – Vauxhall | Corsa | |
Sterling | 1 -Vauxhall | Corsa |
2 – Ford | Fiesta | |
3 – Peugeot | 206 and 207 | |
Perth | 1 – Vauxhall | Corsa |
2 – Volkswagen | Golf | |
3 – Ford | Focus | |
Glasgow | 1 – Vauxhall | Corsa |
2 – Volkswagen | Polo | |
3 – Audi | A3 |