News: Women over 50 drive a boom in sales of convertibles

MUM’S TAXI has given way to mum’s convertible as women in their 50s flock to swap their battered people carrier for a soft-top.

More women than men now own a convertible with the number attracted by that wind-in-the-hair feeling quadrupling over the past 15 years, while the numbers of men owning one have tripled.

The majority of female soft-top owners are aged over 50. Typically, she is an investment manager aged 51 to 60, driving a Mercedes SLK costing more than £33,000. However, on the whole they prefer smaller models such as the Mini Cooper and the Peugeot 206.

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The SLK is also the most popular convertible with men but unlike women, they like more powerful models such as the BMW Z4 and Porsche Boxster. They are also most likely to be aged over 50, and working in the financial sector.

Commenting on older women’s taste for convertibles Edmund King, president of the AA, said: “Many women who have put the family behind them can at last afford the car they want, rather than the car they need.”

The 10 convertibles most popular with women and men

Women

1. Mercedes SLK
2. Mini Cooper
3. Peugeot 206
4. Mini One
5. Mazda  MX-5
6. Renault Megane
7. Volkswagen Beetle
8. Peugeot 207
9. Audi A4
10. Ford Streetka

Men

1. Mercedes SLK
2. BMW Z4
3. Porsche Boxster
4. Mazda  MX-5
5. Audi A4
6. Mercedes CLK
7. BMW 330
8. Renault Megane
9. Mercedes SL
10. Porsche 911

The 10 jobs owners of convertibles are most likely to have

Women

1. Investment manager                    10.14%
2. Company director                           9.35%
3. Management consultant              9.16%
4. Merchant banker                            8.88%
5. Estate agents office clerk             8.57%
6. Head of marketing                         8.44%
7. Lawyer                                                 8.31%
8. Business consultant                        8.01%
9. Operations manager                      8.00%
10. Travelling sales manager               7.89%

 Men

1. Director of finance                          8.80%
2. Stockbroker                                       8.37%
3. Merchant banker                             7.76%
4. Head of marketing                          7.56%
5. Barrister                                               7.19%
6. Company director                            6.98%
7. Dentist                                                 6.84%
8. Car salesman                                     6.80%
9. Management consultant              6.78%
10. Salon hairdresser                             6.65%