This year, the UK’s most popular new car is a black Volkswagen Golf, according to a study of the nation’s tastes, including analysis of over 38 million new car ad views online. The research published in the UK’s Most Popular Cars 2019 report, commissioned by Auto Trader, the UK’s largest digital marketplace for new and used cars, combines a survey of 2,000 UK drivers with search data from ad views on Auto Trader’s website and app to reveal the most popular makes, models and features on the new car market.

According to the report, the Volkswagen Golf is the UK’s most popular model of new car, ahead of traditional top sellers the Ford Fiesta and Focus. This is the second year in a row that the Golf has taken the top spot, showing its appeal to a broad range of car buyers.

Top 10 Most Popular Cars of 2019 (based on ad views)

Audi is named as this year’s most desirable overall new car brand with a total of 4,814,795 ad views since January 2019, overtaking BMW by almost 800,000 views and continuing the tight contest between the German brands.

The data also shows that interest in new electric cars is starting to overtake that for petrol hybrids. The electric Audi E-Tron is revealed as the UK’s most popular eco car, aligning with changing attitudes towards going green, as the government offers subsidies and manufacturers continue to improve range and battery costs of their greener models.

Top of the shopping list for new car features are air conditioning and climate control (52% said this was important when selecting a new car), electric windows (49%) and a spacious boot (41%). 

Amongst the least popular features are a panoramic sun-roof (9%), heated steering wheels (8%) and Apple CarPlay or Android Auto (7%).

The report also reveals that Black is the UK’s most popular colour preference for a new car (21%), followed by Blue (19%) and Silver (16%).

Auto Trader’s Rory Reid says: “Audi’s performance shows the strength of its brand across all classes and price brackets. From the A1 to its prestige and electric models, it has something to appeal to all tastes and budgets.  Audi performed particularly well with drivers aged 34 and under, highlighting its status as a brand to which many younger motorists aspire.

“The Volkswagen Golf also performs well, outscoring top selling models such as the Ford Fiesta and Focus, indicating the strength of this evergreen brand with new car buyers.

“The most popular electric cars are consistently outscoring petrol hybrids for desirability in the eco ranges, suggesting a change in the nation’s tastes for more environmentally friendly cars and the impact of a wider roll out for charging points. For example, the top scoring electric model, the Audi E-Tron, gained 7% more interest than the top petrol hybrid, the Toyota Corolla.”