Tag Archives: new car

buying a new car

A Ladies First female friendly dealership concept

nissan_ladies_firstEarlier this year Frost & Sullivan research confirmed that women drivers will soon outnumber men on UK roads as they have done in the USA. It’s a simple case of demographics and the fact that younger women expect to drive cars for the rest of their lives, compared to older pre Baby Boomer females who were rarely expected to drive or never got round to it.

Their new research tells us what women are looking for from our cars and how different manufacturers are addressing this gender opportunity.

Apparently women want intuitive vehicle controls, automatic assist features, integrated technology and a quiet, comfortable and plush cabin.

In response, the 2014 Mercedes S Class features a host of female-oriented options including a perfume atomiser, an ionising air system and an absence of plastic. The new Porsche Macan – aimed at women – has almost endless options for personalisation.

Ford’s automatic boot opener and its advert portraying a woman using her stiletto to activate this was such a success it resulted in high sales of the Ford Kuga and apparently BMW then copied the feature and the advert (which I clearly missed…).

Female friendly car dealerships

nissan_concierge

But now the gender battleground is shifting to car dealerships. Nissan has come out as the first car company that plans to revamp 300 of their dealerships in Japan, tailoring them to women.

Called the “Ladies First” project, Nissan has opened a pilot in the Tokyo suburb of Fuchu. Managed by women and manned by women, it aims to make the car shopping experience much more female friendly.

These dealerships will be modern, serene and with a team of female concierges providing child care during appointments. Female mechanics will avoid unnecessary techno-speak and Nissan wants to see a minimum of 50 percent of sales and retail teams across the globe to be women.

Their research confirms that 80 percent of women going to a car dealer want to have a woman sales person. As the saying goes (more in Japan than the UK I think), “Happy wife, happy life…”

Those of you familiar with the FOXY formula will know of our FOXY Lady Approved female friendly garage and car dealer network doing a similar job but monitoring dealership performance as an independent brand.

Whereas efforts towards this sort of workforce diversity will take many years to come to fruition, Ghosn has established a system called “fJury” (female jury), where a panel of women provide feedback and approve every stage of any new vehicle design process.

From Germanic macho to mumsy…

At long last BMW has been forced to look at their largely successful “ultimate driving machine” marketing slogan. They realised it worked with mostly male piston heads, but something far more sophisticated was needed to capture a new female consumer. So the “Joy” campaign was born??? Going from taglines such as “Fasterpiece” to “Joy is Maternal” is supposed to bring a different feel to the brand.

As a 5’3” female driving a BMW that was clearly designed for a taller man (and who is unlikely to buy another one) I think they need to build cars for females first, not just give their campaigns frilly monnikers.

Female staff in the motor industry

Major auto makers are now putting women at the head of vehicle design and roll out in these key future markets. For example, Lamborghini’s trim and colour assembly team is 75 percent female, and BMW has an all-female team of engineers working on product development for the BMWi user interface.

For the auto industry the female consumer has thrown the innovation race wide open and there are many yet to come to the party. The question is will manufacturers develop and launch vehicles specifically designed for women, or will they customize cars for both sexes.

The female business case should make that an easy answer.

FOXY

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This blog came out of an interesting article published by Forbes and written by Olivia Price Walker, Senior Consultant and author of Frost & Sullivan’s “Women in Cars; Changing Auto Industry Dynamics.” http://www.forbes.com/sites/sarwantsingh/2014/08/28/will-cars-of-the-future-be-designed-for-women-only/

buying a new car

Which? best car brands

female new car shoppingWhen you’re shopping for a new car, whether it’s brand new, nearly new or unflatteringly described as ‘used’ you need to do a lot of homework to get to the perfect shortlist to suit your needs. And this takes time to get right.

A good place to start is the new Which Car Guide 2014/15 – it’s the biggest car reliability and satisfaction survey with more than 49,000 owners revealing their likes and dislikes.

Which? rates cars by road and lab tests adding reliability results and customer satisfaction feedback.

The majority of motorists in this survey were cash buyers, fractionally more bought petrol than diesel cars, 30% bought automatics, only 2% drove hybrids and there was a fairly even split between new and used car models. Sadly no gender based information for us here.

Top Ten Best brands (out of 32)
1. Lexus
2. Honda
3. BMW
4. Toyota
5. Audi
6. Skoda
7. Porsche
8. Mercedes
9. Mazda
10. Volkswagen

Bottom Ten Brands (out of 32)
32. Chrysler
31. Vauxhall
30. Alfa Romeo
29. Fiat
28. Chevrolet
27. Peugeot
=24. Landrover
=24. Mitsubishi
=24. Dacia
23. Renault

Clearly the rest slot in between but it’s worth noting that big brand Ford comes in at 11th whereas similarly familiar brand Vauxhall is languishing nest to bottom. Would Vauxhall do better if this was a business driver survey or do they do badly because their cars have been hammered by business drivers before becoming used cars?

So what does all this tell us? It tells us that too many motorists buy cars that aren’t the best out there. Presumably they think it’s better the devil you know and maybe they stick with a familiar brand rather than trying a new one. My personal experience is that many women don’t enjoy test driving a new car in an unfamiliar area and perhaps get their husband to or stick with the brand/model they know.

Car buying advice for women

Our advice? Always pick the best rated models in terms of reliability, safety and economy. Then ask for a test drive car to be delivered to your home for an overnight test. Then you can try it out on familiar roads. If you don’t ask, you won’t get…

But always factor in a few of your own driving fancies. For example, I find some of the top brands to be a boring drive but having chosen a drive I enjoy, my car hasn’t the visibility I need and I’ll want to put this right the next time…

Car shopping should always be a learning experience about the latest cars and models. Be adventurous and test drive a new car that performs better than your current model.

I’m looking forward to my new car later this year, when I’ve decided what it’s going to be…

FOXY

buying a new car, women

The colour pink – do you love it or hate it?

hello-kitty-car-interiorSome women like pink and buy lots of products and accessories in it. Others clearly find it hugely patronising; Guardian readers in particular it seems.

A recent spate of advertising links pink cars and cosmetics, suggesting we girlies can buy a car to match our nail colour or vice versa. I think that’s quite funny really, as if we girls are that stupid (or all the same), but some females are deeply insulted at the very suggestion.

Heavens to Betsy that a pink campaign might work! That manufacturers might have based their strategy on fun female research or that there are enough supposedly empty-headed women to buy and drive pink cars…

Car manufacturers including Citroen, Honda and Nissan make pink cars but you wouldn’t find a BMW in pink, even if it was aimed at gay men. I wrote about that last month, making the point that BMW is a masculine brand. I don’t recall there being an uproar at that statement.

Personally I don’t mind either way as long as I am allowed my sense of humour. As long as there is a colour choice, why not let men or women buy pink cars rather than black ones if they want. Without feeling foolish?

After all, pink comes in many different hues, from the shocking bright variety to the pale baby pink version with varying shades in between.

So unfair for females

Why not a Cath Kidston car wrap for that matter?

Or her fabrics made available as car interiors?

Would that be patronising?

Not to me.

On the other hand if the ‘yours deeply offended by pink cars’ brigade turns into a ‘No More Page 3’ gender lobby the car manufacturers will undoubtedly ditch pink quick in the UK, knowing it’s a boy’s colour in Japan…

We used to tell Club members ‘If you buy a pink car you’re limiting your resale car value and audience’ but knowing that the number of women drivers has risen so much recently I don’t think this necessarily applies any longer.

My only reservation (other than not wanting a pink car myself I hasten to add…) is that it isn’t always a good idea to draw attention to the fact that you are a female driver. You can be singled out by opportunist thieves. So, if you drive a ‘Hello Kitty’ adorned car and you’re occasionally out and about on your own, especially at night, be sure to park in a well lit area and where there are plenty of people about.

FOXY

buying a new car

BMW cars aren’t just for boys

The stylish interior of a BMW Series 1
The stylish interior of a BMW Series 1
I’m sure there are some that think the B in BMW stands for Boys but there are many foxy lady drivers like me who drive one and know differently.

BMW is one of our most prestigious motoring brands but it seems to suffer from an unfair image in some minds that doesn’t do its current range of new vehicles justice.

For example, when I gave a (male) neighbour a lift recently and asked him where to drop him off he said ‘just over there but there’s no need to signal because you’re driving a BMW.’ I laughed at the time but I thought about it afterwards.

Are BMW drivers really as arrogant as they appear to be or is it simply a case of perceived Teutonic cool giving the brand an exclusive personality, like it or not?

BMWs I have driven

I first chose a BMW five years ago. It was a BMW Z4 Roadster (called Zoot) and I loved him. And so did my husband which is always an important consideration to me.

Until a lady drove into us and wrote Zoot off. That’s why I bought another BMW – because despite sustaining a couple of broken ribs and a broken thumb in the accident I could have been so much more seriously injured. I honestly believe that car kept me safer than another might have.

My current car is a BMW 1 Series 5 door sports hatch (called Romeo). No longer new, it still plies the motorways with ease and surprising economy. My husband would put driving performance at the top of his list and I am used to this of course.

Had I become a BMW fan twenty or ten years ago I’d have needed a family car and I’d have been spoiled for choice. Today’s range of new BMW vehicles includes a huge choice of saloons, coupes and touring cars in their 2, 3 and 4 Series.

The gender appeal

x5_1

I’d probably have been impressed by the new BMW X5 which we reviewed last October. But of course there wouldn’t have been the online car reviews from other Mums that influence us today.

Interestingly I hadn’t noticed until now that I gave both my BMW’s male names. And there is no doubt in my mind that any shade of pink BMW would look well out of place in today’s range whereas it works perfectly well for Citroen and Honda…

So there is undoubtedly a whiff of Old Spice more than Chanel about the BMW brand but this doesn’t stop the cars appealing to women like me. And dare I suggest that there’s something empowering about driving a car that is so evidently male and telling ‘him’ where to go and how to get there.

I shall just have to live with the out of date jokes about BMW drivers being too arrogant to signal or too important to put others first. Perhaps these images were borne out of jealousy, or would that be too arrogant of me to suggest?

FOXY

car reviews by women

Forget football and Brazil – the Rio is a foxy car for females

A FOXY Car Review by Steph Savill

carreviewIt was Mothers Day, I got taken out for lunch, the sun shone on the Saturday and then it snowed on the Sunday… Ah yes I remember the weekend I test drove the new Kia Rio very well indeed!

And it’s not just me that the Rio has made a good impression on – since the ‘new’ Rio model arrived in UK showrooms it’s collected a load of best car awards which is always a good thing to consider.

Sadly, unless you’re a female following FIFA or UEFA football games, the Australian Open or cricket at the Oval (that Kia sponsor), you mightn’t know all that much about this particular car brand despite its ‘family friendly’ marketing plans.

So this car review is for women who mightn’t be footie fans or petrolheads even but still want to know about the safety, reliability and practicality of their new car choices when it’s shopping time.

Let’s start by introducing Kia as a Korean brand with a European manufacturing plant in Slovakia and an industry leading 7 year warranty, which will surely reassure you about the reliability you can expect from their cars. And the car model I am writing about here is their Rio ‘2’ in the photo below, a 1.4 litre petrol engine with 3 doors and a 6 speed manual gearbox, supplied by Birchwood Group’s West Sussex Motors in Washington.

Good looks

Kia_Rio_daffs_March 2013The ‘new’ Rio has had a style makeover, adding a new ‘tiger-nose’ grille giving it a sporty stance and what they call ‘a muscular rear.’ The male equivalent of Pippa Middleton I expected… silly me.

It looks smart, the lines are clean and there are two body-styles depending on whether it’s the 3-door (ie wider front doors for easier back seat access) or the 5-door version.

The car comes in 4 different models – the ‘1’, the ‘1 Air’, the ‘2’ and the top of the range Rio ‘3’.

My car was in silver metallic paint with 16 inch alloys, a chrome surround grille and electrically folding and heated wing mirrors (which came in handy when it snowed) with integrated indicator lights. It had an attractive looking dashboard, a leather trimmed steering wheel & gear stick and was nicely upholstered in a quality black cloth. A stylish combination but, having raised my expectations here, I found the car ‘rear’ to be disappointingly ordinary if I’m honest

Value for money

The Rio range includes many features that aren’t always standard elsewhere, such as electric windows, central locking, Bluetooth, USB and AUX ports (all rated as impressive by my gadget loving son) with stereo controls mounted on the steering wheel. I was particularly reassured by the Vehicle Stability Management, Electronic Stability Control and Emergency Stop Signalling safety features across the Rio range.

Granted the diesel models have the lower emissions (starting from 85 g/km) and better fuel consumption as a result but you’re still getting impressive fuel consumption of c50mpg for a combination of city and motorway driving. The 6 speed gearbox makes motorway journeys especially economic.

Driving performance

Petrol engines are usually zippier to drive than diesels and this one comes in 1.25 and 1.4 litre engine options and a 6 speed gearbox. There’s an automatic version as well. I found it agile on a combination of dual carriageways and rural roads in Sussex. The 16 inch alloys meant it was quiet over bumps and it cornered well. Of particular note were the responsive brakes and the fact that when the engine was running, you couldn’t hear it. In fact it was so quiet my husband thought it had a Stop ‘n’ Start gearbox and had switched itself off at the lights. It hadn’t!

The practicalities

Kia_Rio_interior_March 2013The back seats fold down 60:40 to allow for extra space when needed. Even without this the boot seemed quite roomy to me.

I’d choose the 5 door model given the choice but my son still found it easy to get in the back via the front doors.

There was plenty of legroom front and back and the cabin felt a lot more roomy than the exterior of the car might suggest.

If you buy the Rio ‘3’ it comes with rear parking sensors which I’d probably opt for.

The radio and IPod settings were simple, even for me and particularly important on this Mothers Day – the heater worked quickly and efficiently thank goodness…

Summary

As you can glean from all this and the FOXY Facts below, Kia has a good pedigree and the Rio’s safety and reliability credentials are reassuring. Just as important to many women, this is a car you can probably get into and feel sufficiently confident to drive off in within minutes. It just feels familiar.

This matters because many women aren’t as confident test driving an unfamiliar new car as men – which may explain why many of us stick with the brand we know.

I felt instantly comfortable in the driving position, the seat was easy to adjust, I had excellent all-round visibility and the driving controls felt handy and familiar as well as intuitive.

On the minus side I struggled to get the gear shift into reverse and whilst my husband could do this with ease I wondered if it might be something to do with hand size (or just a wimpy me this time around)?

But apart from this tiny niggle this is an award-winning car I’d happily recommend to women for safe and easy motoring.

Steph Savill

FOXY FACTS
Model tested: Kia Rio ‘2’ 1.4 petrol engine, 3 door, 6-speed manual gearbox and ISG (ie Intelligent Stop and Go).
RRP: The new Rio range starts from £9245. The Rio 2 1.4 petrol engine costs £11295. Metallic paint adds £445.
Buying discounts: West Sussex Motors has a scrappage scheme which would be the best offer whilst it lasts. Otherwise Kia savings of £1400 on the ‘2’ model apply until 30 June 2013.
Fuel economy: MPG is Urban 39.2, Extra Urban 62.8 and Combined 51.4
Insurance group: 8 ie should prove fairly cheap to insure
Road tax/VED: £100 (nil for entry diesel model)
Safety: 5 Star Euro NCap rating (2011) incorporating Adult, Child, Pedestrian and Safety Assist tests. This is an improvement over the 2009 4 star rating and includes 6 airbags as standard.
Reliability: An above average number 35 in the Top 100 cars chart in the Reliability Index – this is based on claims made under warranty so again, it’s based on older models.
Environmental C02 rating: 128gsm.