Are Saloon Cars being ditched by family Drivers?

The top ten most popular cars in the UK today no longer feature the family saloon. The saloon has been replaced by either a smaller car, such as a Volkswagen Golf or a Peugeot 207, or a specialist vehicle that better caters to family needs a 4x4 or an MPV such as the Citroen Picasso or Ford Galaxy.

Research by insurance giant Aviva suggests that small runabouts such as the Ford Fiesta remain popular. Thirty years ago the usual sight on a UK driveway was a big saloon and a small runaround, nowadays you are more likely to see a couple of VW Golfs or a Nissan Qashqai. Researchers asked 2,500 drivers about their family car history stretching back 30 years and found that, while more families than ever now own a second car, the saloon has been replaced by smaller family motors, such as the Volkswagen Golf, the Mini and the Peugeot 207.

The top ten most popular cars in the UK today start with the Ford Fiesta followed by the Vauxhall Astra and Ford Focus. The Vauxhall Corsa is in fourth place with the VW in fifth, and then comes the Peugeot 207, BMW 3 Series followed by the Mini and in tenth place the Nissan Qashqai.

By Geraldine Ashton Green, motoring.co.uk