Insurance costs are a key concern for Donegal motorists as they are faced with rising premiums in 2017, according to the latest motoring report.
The 2017 Carzone Motoring report found that Donegal motorists say that insurance is their main financial concern, with 95% saying they noticed a rise in their insurance premium in the last year.
Fuel was the second biggest concern followed by road tax and costs associated with the NCT.
The Carzone Motoring Report is compiled by analysing data from the 67 million searches carried out on Carzone in the first five months of 2017, as well as an in-depth survey of 2,647 Irish motorists and a cross section of car retailers in Ireland.
A look at trends highlights the continued rise in used car sales in Ireland as people upgrade their car more regularly. Over a quarter (28%) of Donegal motorists said that they change their car every five years. When changing their car, 15% of drivers from Donegal tend to stick with the same marque.
Which brand?
The Volkswagen Golf remains the most searched for model on Carzone. However, jumping a massive six places to second place in this year’s report is the new-shape Mercedes-Benz E Class. Premium car marques remain a firm favourite with Irish motorists with the BMW 5 Series, the Audi A6 and the Audi A4 all featuring in the top 6.
Although electric and hybrid cars make up a smaller portion of searches on the site, interest in these cars has significantly increased in the first five months of 2017. The Nissan Leaf is the most searched for electric car on Carzone while the Toyota Auris takes the top spot in the hybrid stakes.
Diesel or Petrol?
The report finds that Donegal dwellers are more likely to drive a diesel car than petrol (63%) and of those, 63% would purchase a diesel car in the future. Women are also more likely to drive a petrol car than men (43% v 16 %).
Embracing the future
The report indicates that Donegal motorists are embracing technology as a third say they would happily be a passenger in a self-driving car and nearly half (48%) believe that autonomous driving will happen in their lifetime
