Love is in the air today! You have the flowers, the chocolate, a fantastic date night planned…but what about the wheels?
The adage that woman prefer men who drive flashy cars has floated out there in the public consciousness for a long time. But is it actually true? What about men – what sort of cars do they prefer women drive? What are the sexiest and unsexiest car brands? It’s Valentine’s Day, a celebration of love and affection. Or, on the flip side, you may be celebrating Singles Awareness Day.
Either way, British vehicle supply firm OSV Ltd conducted a study of 1,000 people to find out what cars men and women found most attractive. You’d expect both sexes to prefer higher-end cars, and you’d be right to an extent. However, the results are a bit more nuanced than that. There are also some brands featured on the list that you may not have expected! Now, since this is a British survey, it does feature brands that aren’t sold in the U.S. Nevertheless, here’s a fun Top 5 list to think about as we celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Some other numbers: 54 percent of men believed a flashy car could help them get a date. According to this particular survey, nearly the same amount of women (51 percent) actually thought that was true! Those 51 percent believed what car a man drives does “impact his image”. Only 15 percent of men judge women by what cars they drive, although 27 percent of those who do also believe a woman driving an expensive car comes across as arrogant. Take those statistics for what you will.
The lists below are sorted into “Winners” and “Losers” by what percentage of women and mind find that brand attractive. Check it out below!
The Winners and Losers, According to Women:
The Winners (Most Attractive) | The Losers (Least Attractive) |
Audi (77%) | Mini (5%) |
Mercedes-Benz (71%) | BMW (7%) |
Volkswagen (68%) | Skoda (VW brand) (9%) |
Bugatti (58%) | SEAT (VW brand) (11%) |
Land Rover (51%) | Volvo (13%) |
Women declared Audi as the sexiest car brand, according to this survey. A whopping 77 percent said they consider men attractive if they drive an Audi. In fact, most of the high-end German brands scored quite well on this list. One that didn’t, however, was BMW. Apparently, only 7 percent found BMW an attractive brand.
Interestingly, Volkswagen featured favorably, despite being the most humble brand on the winners list. As you’d expect, high-end luxury brands, including Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Bugatti, and Land Rover are what you want to drive. If you want to appeal to women, stay away from Minis, BMWs and Volvos.
The Winners and Losers, According to Men:
The Winners (Most Attractive) | The Losers (Least Attractive) |
Volkswagen (72%) | Nissan (2%) |
Audi (70%) | Smart (6%) |
Mini (69%) | Land Rover (8%) |
SEAT (VW brand) (65%) | Toyota (8%) |
BMW (61%) | Dacia (Renault brand) (10%) |
Men like Volkswagen too, judging by the results of this survey. In fact, men found Volkswagen to be the sexiest car brand – at 72 percent – beating Audi. While women couldn’t stand men who drive Minis, the opposite can be said for men. Mini was the third ranking brand, with 69 percent finding women who drive them attractive. BMW also had a much stronger showing in this list, showing that men like women who drive BMWs.
On the down side, men did not prefer women who drove Land Rovers, contrarily to the women’s list. Men also didn’t think Nissan was the sexiest car brand at all (with just 2 percent giving the nod) or Toyota, with 8 percent finding the brand attractive. Maybe they’re too middle-of-the-road? We’ll let you make the call there. Dacia rounded out the least attractive list, with the Renault subsidiary catching 10 percent of the vote.
The survey pointed out an interesting trend, as Debbie Kirkley, director of OSV concludes. “More of us than we realise stereotype people by the car they drive, as well as thinking that a car defines who we are.” Of course, you should choose a car you want to drive (after all, you’re going to be the one stuck with it). Still, it can be fun to see what we all think the most attractive car brands are.