Ford Fiesta is Britain’s favourite car

  • Ford Fiesta is the most popular car in the UK
  • Ford Focus is second most popular, followed by Vauxhall Corsa in third
  • The top four car models make up 15% of cars on the road

The Ford Fiesta is the most owned car model in the UK, new research has revealed.

The study by car insurance experts CarInsurance.ae analysed government data of the car models in the UK and the number of registered vehicles for each model to show the most popular in the country.

Analysis of the data revealed that the Ford Fiesta is Britain’s most owned car model, with 1,521,680 being registered. The most popular specification of the Ford Fiesta is the Ford Fiesta Zetec, 386,882 cars.

Another Ford to appear on the list, the Ford Focus, comes in at second, where more than 1,100,000 cars are on the road. Among the many specifications available for the Ford Focus, the most common is the Ford Focus Zetec, with just below 75,000 models.

Vauxhall Corsa ranks third on the list of popular car models in the UK, with 1,053,949 owned throughout the country. The most prevalent version with 58,472 registered is the Vauxhall Corsa SE.

Coming in at fourth on the list is the Volkswagen Golf, which saw 1,040,051 versions of the German car being registered in the UK. The most owned version of the hatchback is the Volkswagen Golf GT TDI which has a 2-litre diesel engine, with 37,576 vehicles on the road.

Vauxhall Astra is the fifth most popular car model in the UK, as the small family car has more than 829,000 around the country.

10 Most Popular Car Models in the UK, CarInsurance.ae

RankModelNumber of Model
1Ford Fiesta1,521,680
2Ford Focus1,179,024
3Vauxhall Corsa1,053,949
4Volkswagen Golf1,040,051
5Vauxhall Astra829,198
6Volkswagen Polo676,350
7Nissan Qashqai555,342
8Toyota Yaris488,589
9Audi A3428,223
10Renault Clio407,147

The second Volkswagen hatchback, the Volkswagen Polo, comes in at sixth. The car model has 676,350 versions owned by the British public.

The only non-hatchback car model to appear on the list, the Nissan Qashqai, places in at seventh. The crossover has more than 555,000 registered in the country.

Toyota Yaris comes in at the eighth spot on the list, with 488,589 models being owned. Audi A3 appears at ninth, with 428,223 versions on British roads. The French hatchback, Renault Clio, finishes off the top ten with 407,147 models registered in the UK.

A spokesperson for CarInsurance.ae commented on the study: “It is fascinating to see which car models the UK favours out of the hundreds available.

“The data shows that the Ford Fiesta is the most popular car in the UK, and is one of nine hatchbacks in the top ten, showing how popular small cars are throughout the country. In fact, the Ford Fiesta is so popular that there are more Fiestas on the road in the UK than there are every type of Peugeot.”

10 Most Popular Car Makes in the UK, CarInsurance.ae

RankMakeNumber of Make
1Ford4,138,817
2Vauxhall3,156,726
3Volkswagen2,857,784
4BMW1,940,108
5Audi1,786,402
6Mercedes1,635,132
7Toyota1,566,813
8Nissan1,557,420
9Peugeot1,387,361
10Honda1,029,659

The analysis was conducted by CarInsurance.ae, which is dedicated to helping drivers save time and money while picking car insurance in UAE.

Vauxhall most popular car for young Scottish drivers

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 Insurance4×4 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 CityTop Young Driver MakeTop Young Driver Model
Aberdeen1 – VauxhallCorsa
 2 – FordFiesta
 3 -VWPolo
Dundee1 – FordFiesta
 2 – VauxhallCorsa
 3 – VWPolo
Edinburgh1 – VauxhallCorsa
 2 – VolkswagenPolo
 3 – FordFiesta
Inverness1 – VolkswagenPolo
 2 – FordFiesta
 3 – VauxhallCorsa
Sterling1 -VauxhallCorsa
 2 – FordFiesta
 3 – Peugeot206 and 207
Perth1 – VauxhallCorsa
 2 – VolkswagenGolf
 3 – FordFocus
Glasgow1 – VauxhallCorsa
 2 – VolkswagenPolo
 3 – AudiA3