Currently reading: UK car buyers favour smartphone and parking tech over safety kit

Our survey of 1200 people in the UK reveals that more would look for smartphone connectivity and parking aids than safety technology

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.

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Uncle Mellow 8 July 2016

Safety Systems

Most so - called safety systems are in reality idiot-proofing systems. If you aren't an idiot then you don't really need them.
centenary 9 July 2016

Uncle Mellow wrote: Most so -

Uncle Mellow wrote:

Most so - called safety systems are in reality idiot-proofing systems. If you aren't an idiot then you don't really need them.

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.

gallions1 10 July 2016

Safety systems

The reply from Uncle Mellow to the comment by centenary I can only agree with but I am a little puzzled by the infotainment issue, I was recently reading a brochure for one of Britain's most popular cars, not in view of making a purchase but just a passing interest, and was a bemused to see much information on the connectivity possibilities but very little information on the available engines which I would consider both more interesting and important when making a choice of which to buy. I suppose I'm out of touch with the modern world.
TegTypeR 11 July 2016

gallions1, from a PC point of

gallions1, from a PC point of view engines are talked down (consider them as a necessary evil from a marketing point of view) where as tech is no where near a controversial. Sad world we live in.

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.