The most popular car of 2011

Robert Powell looks at the most popular cars of 2011 and finds out if they are really the most frugal choice...

The new car industry performed better than expected over 2011, but was still down 4.4% on 2010 figures, according to The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Throughout 2011, 1,941,253 new cars were sold – down 89,593 on the previous year. Figures for December registrations also dropped, falling by 3.7% to 119,188 cars.

Diesel and alternatively-fuelled cars both took record shares of the market in 2011. New diesel car sales outstripped petrol sales for the first time, despite the price gap between the two fuels quadrupling over the last two years.

The SMMT forecast a broadly stable market in 2012, followed by recovery in 2013.

But which were the most popular makes of car over the year?

Top-selling motors

Here’s a rundown of the bestselling new cars of 2011:

Source: The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders

So as you can see, the Ford Fiesta was the most popular new car last year with 96,112 sales. Another Ford car, the Focus, came second with 81,832, followed by the Vauxhall Corsa. VW’s Golf was the bestselling diesel model of the year with 63,368 cars sold.

The Supermini segment of cars that includes the Fiesta and Corsa remains dominant in the UK with a market share of 36.3%.

So how do these cars stack up on price?

New prices

Here are the cheapest new prices for each of the ten cars in table above:

*Starting price for the cheapest model as listed on the manufacturer’s website.

As you can see, the top selling car of the 2011, the Ford Fiesta, is also the cheapest car on the list with a starting price of £9,495 for the Studio model. Next is the VW Polo with a starting price of £9,585 followed by the Vauxhall Corsa 3-door at £11,625 and the MINI First at £12,059.

Unsurprisingly the most expensive car on the list is the BMW 3 Series; the saloon version comes in at £22,695. Vauxhall’s Insignia is the next priciest, starting at £19,815 for the Hatchback model.

However when it comes to running costs, the above cars do not score highly. According to research from motoring magazine Auto Express, Renaults are the cheapest cars to run, with the Twingo 1.2 coming top, followed by the Clio 1.2. None of the most popular cars make it into the top ten. Take a look at this article for the full survey details.

Used prices

All of the SMMT stats above are based on new cars. And as many lovemoney.com readers pointed out on a previous motoring article, if you do buy new, you should expect a good chunk of the car’s value to drop off immediately. One way to minimise this depreciation is to get hold of a used car.

Take a look at this rundown of the most popular used car models in November 2011 according to Motors.co.uk and see if you notice a trend:

Source: Motors.co.uk

Yes, six of the most popular new cars of 2011 all appear in the top seven bestselling used cars. In fact the three top used cars are also all present in the top four places of the new chart: the Ford Focus emerges top followed by the Fiesta and VW Golf.

Motors.co.uk places the average resale value of a Ford Focus at £8,537. That’s 61% of the car’s advertised new price. This large level of depreciation is bad news if you’ve bought new but offers the possibility of a bargain if you’re after a used model.

The Fiesta fetches an average resale value of around £8,000 while the price of a used VW Golf averages out at £11,000.

Finally, if you are planning on snapping up a used car, take a look at this article that reveals some of the tricks of the resale motor trade and explains how to ensure you get the best deal.

What’s your take?

Do these new and used cars deserve their places in the top ten chart?

Have your say using the comment box below.

More: Four reasons why petrol prices will keep rising | Married women are worse drivers | Slash your costs at the petrol pump