Women's Auto Website Names Audi A3 Cabriolet "Car of the Year"
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UK Website EveCars.com Calls the Audi A3 Cabriolet the Perfect Choice for Women, and that Women Influence over 80% of UK Car Purchases
EDITOR'S NOTE: Statistical information suggesting that
women have a significant role in the purchase of a vehicle is
often greatly overrated. Research into marketing influences would
undoubtedly show that men influence close to 100% of car purchases. This is not to
say that female influence is not important, but it is not more important than several
other factors. The key word is "influence," and what the word means. If the word
"influence" is taken to mean that it is the sole influence, for example, then it is false.
In a multiple choice poll of auto buyers, it would be possible for the buyer to select several
reasons for why the purchase was made, and it could be possible that while 80% of the
purchases were influenced by women, that 95% of the purchases were influenced by the other gender and/or
by issues unrelated to gender, such as price, style, convenience of seller's location, etc. Therefore, the
80% may actually be one of the lesser influencing factors, even if the percentage is high. Automotive
marketers would be wise to understand this distinction.
MJR
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Alex Jenner-Fust, editor of evecars.com said: ‘The Audi A3 won over all the judges with its impressive combination of talents. It looks great: it’s neither too feminine nor flashy, but classy and well styled. It’s easy enough to get a child seat in the back and the soft-top roof leaves more boot space than a folding hard top. Drivers will be rewarded with almost 40mpg, too. It’s a great all round no-compromise package and truly deserves our top accolade.'
Two well-loved British-built brands won over the judges, with the Land Rover Discovery taking the 4x4 award and the Jaguar XF collecting the Executive award.
The BMW 318d won the Green award for its combination of energy-saving technologies including ‘Auto Start-Stop' that switches the engine off when the car comes to a halt. When the driver's ready to roll, simply putting the car into gear starts the engine again.
‘The BMW 318d is a great car; it’s kind to the environment, and huge fun to drive as well as being practical,' said Alex Jenner-Fust.
Fiat's retro-inspired 500 won the City car category: judges found it surprisingly roomy and were impressed by the thousands of optional extras available to help owners personalise the car.
The MPV category was topped for the second year running by the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso, which still leads the pack for its combination of style and versatility.
Audi's TT scooped the best Sports car award, while the Hyundai i30 was the Small family car category winner.
Every car was given a thorough inspection and judges looked at how easy it was to find a good driving position, get into and out of the back seats, fit a child seat and pack the boot.
The cars were then put through their paces on winding country lanes and fast sections of dual carriageway, as well as being manoeuvred around a couple of tight parking spaces.
What Car? provided information about resale values, service costs and reliability to help complete the picture.
Overall Winner |
Audi A3 Cabriolet | Best buy 1.8 TFSI Sport £24,150 |
Best supermi/city car |
Fiat 500 | Best buy 1.2 Pop £8,100 |
Best convertible |
Audi A3 Cabriolet | Best buy 1.8 TFSI Sport £24,150 |
Best MPV |
Citroen C4 Grand Picasso | Best buy 1.6 HDi SX £18,295 |
Best 4x4 |
Land Rover Discovery | Best buy 2.7 TDV6 SE £39,400 |
Best sports car |
Audi TT | Best buy 2.0 TFSI 200 £25,210 |
Best executive car |
Jaguar XF | Best buy 2.7D V6 Luxury £33,900 |
Best green car |
BMW 3 Series | Best buy 318d £25,130 |
Best small family car |
Hyundai i30 | Best buy 1.4 Comfort £11,155 |