One’s well-being is much more important than entertainment, yet it seems quite a lot of people are more interested in their car having a Bluetooth connection rather than lane-keeping assistance or blindspot monitoring.
According to a Whatcar survey, this is currently the way UK motorists are going about specifying their new cars and despite the nation’s overall preoccupation with safety, nearly four times as many buyers choose connectivity options over safety upgrades.
The most often-selected safety system is Automated Emergency Braking (AEB), yet less than 20% of drivers tick the box when they’re configuring their car and six in 10 new car owners won’t go for any additional safety features at all.
Comfort and aesthetic options also rank higher than safety items for new car buyers, as heated seats (60%) and alloy wheels (42%) are also chosen more often than the previously mentioned active safety tech.
“When it comes to talking about what’s important in a car, most people are vociferous about how vital safety is. However, it seems to be a different matter when new car buyers are sat in front of a salesman,” said Whatcar’s editorial director Jim Holder.
“British car buyers are clearly going for style over substance. It’s beneficial to have creature comforts in your car, especially if you spend a lot of time driving. But it’s quite shocking to think that features which could save peoples’ lives are taking a back seat to having the right sound quality on the radio, especially when those items often cost around the same as the safety options.”
Based on the survey, Bluetooth, sat-nav, climate control and heated seats are among the most vital options when it comes to UK buyers. Also desirable are DAB radio and MP3 connectivity, though wireless hotspots have yet to catch on.
Other findings include the fact that sports suspension is fitted to a third of respondents’ current cars, while among driving dynamics features, the automatic transmission is by far the most popular choice – with over half of buyers having it on their current car and almost 58% planning on having it on their next car.
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