Ford Focus Named Most Popular Car of the Decade

LONDON - December 21, 2009: The Ford Focus has been voted the UK’s most popular car of the decade, according to a new poll by Auto Trader. This small family car trumps sports, SUVs and city cars to take pride of place for the noughties.

Despite the company being rocked by financial issues in the past ten years, Ford has remained an iconic motoring brand, with two of its other cars – the Ford Fiesta and Ford Mondeo – also coming high in the list of most loved cars by the British public.

The Auto Trader poll, designed to analyse the key motoring trends over the past ten years, looked at categories including ‘greenest’ car and ‘beyond your wildest dreams’ car as well as top motoring personalities and popular car accessories.

Sat-nav topped the list of optional ‘extras’ that most symbolised the noughties. Although alloy wheels and sound systems still epitomise the boy racer of many a man’s youth, the inclusion of TV screens and iPod docks in the list is a sure sign that technology has allowed cars to come a long way in the past ten years!

Range Rovers have become the ultimate celebrity car in the past decade, with the likes of Katie Price and Gordon Ramsay taking a shine to the 4x4 despite living in cities. Other celebrities such as Julia Roberts who are keen to show their ‘green’ credentials have been seen driving the Toyota Prius, considered the most eco-friendly car of the noughties.

The Bugatti Veyron – of which only 200 models were made and are now owned by the likes of Jenson Button and Simon Cowell – topped the list of both the ‘beyond your wildest dreams’ and ‘most overpriced’ car categories. David Beckham’s beloved Rolls Royce Phantom takes second place with Jay Kay’s Ferrari Enzo lagging in fifth. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jeremy Clarkson was considered the decade’s best motoring personality, ahead of racing legends Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.

Matt Thompson, Marketing Director, Auto Trader, says: “From the emergence of eco-friendly cars as a viable option for consumers to the replacement of maps and asking for directions with in-car sat nav, the noughties have provided some interesting changes to the way consumers think about and drive their cars.”