Car buyers in the UK are more interested in looking for smartphone connectivity and parking aids than for safety equipment, a new survey by Autocar and our sister title, What Car?, has found.
The survey, which took in the views of more than 1200 people - comprising those who are involved in our Tech and Motoring panel groups - also revealed that the ability to watch TV in your car and wirelessly charge a device, plus safety systems such as lane departure warning systems, are among the least sought-after technologies in new cars.
Other key safety systems, including speed limit warning and blind spot monitoring functions, were ranked towards the bottom of the list.
These results are in keeping with a recent study by What Car? which found that almost four times as many new car buyers are choosing connectivity gadgets over safety upgrades when specifying their cars.
Of the various smartphone connectivity services that are now available to give drivers the ability to control their phone from their car's infotainment screens, more of our respondents had heard of Apple CarPlay than had heard of Android Auto or MirrorLink.
Our respondents also named Tesla as the vehicle manufacturer which is the most innovative in the car industry, with BMW and Mercedes-Benz coming close behind. Hyundai, Vauxhall and Seat were ranked at the bottom of the list.
Click here to join The Motoring Panel and take part in future surveys
Join the debate
Add your comment
Safety Systems
Uncle Mellow wrote: Most so -
Totally agree.
And they tend to be the most expensive additional spec so its no real surprise people select phone connectivity as a must have.
Safety systems
gallions1, from a PC point of
On a side note to your comment, I have an old Vauxhall brochure circa 1988 and the amount of tech info in the book would blow the mind or a marketing agency compared to the modern day "life style books" they now issue.