Ever wondered what your car colour says about you? Maybe you’re in the process of looking for a new car and can’t decide which colour to go for. We surveyed 1,000 British motorists to find out how the colour of their car correlates with their behaviour on the road, and how they perceive other road users based on the colour of their vehicles too.
Black was by far the winner, with 1 in 5 motorists picking this as their favourite colour. Coming in at second place was blue with an impressive 17% of the vote, whilst red finished in third position with 11%.
However, when it comes to colour preference, men and women disagree somewhat. A quarter of male respondents opted for black, whilst 18% of females told us that their favourite colour was in fact blue. And, it’s not just gender that’s divided; there was a clear split between age groups too, with a massive 40% of 18-24-year-olds opting for white, whereas the majority of over-55s chose blue – the colour that came in second position overall.
You might be wondering what’s so special about black cars. Well, our results show that 1 in 10 respondents agree that people who drive black cars are more attractive, ambitious, and intelligent. Whilst females were most likely to associate black cars with attractiveness, men were most likely to connect attractiveness with the colour red. 37% of 18-24-year-olds found that drivers of white cars are more attractive, whereas 1 in 5 over-55s picked red.
The news isn’t great for you, as nearly 30% of respondents voted drivers of brown cars unattractive, followed by beige (24.50%) and grey (18.80%). It doesn’t end there; drivers of brown cars (in fact most dark colours) are often seen as the saddest too. Perhaps it’s time to buy a red car? That’s because 1 in 3 respondents think that people who drive red cars are the happiest!
Over half of females said it does, whereas more than 50% of men said it wasn’t a factor for them. When it came to colour there was a clear generational split, with 64% of 18-24-year-olds proclaiming its importance, whereas just over half of over-55s didn’t see it as a significant factor when choosing a car.
In our many years' experience of talking to customers, colour choice is very much subject to fashion and current trends. Out of the 30 million (approx.) cars on the road in the UK today, the most popular car colours are neutral, with the likes of white, black, grey, and silver proving popular.
We found that overall, it’s not in fact colour that is the most important aspect of buying a new car. 42% of British motorists said that the most important factor for them is the price, followed by the car model itself (19%).
Looking for a new car? Take a look at our range of new and used cars for sale.