Women want a more sexy drive

Dear mid-life crisis male - there's some bad news for you, buying a sports car is not going to make you a babe magnet.

Instead, sisters are doing it for themselves - and buying their own pricey, sexy vehicles.

According to a survey in the American magazine for professional women, Road & Travel, it has identified the "sexiest, hottest, wildest wheels" in its Sexy Car Buyer's Guide.

The top cars in the survey were Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, BMW Z4, Mercedes-Benz SLK and the Pontiac Solstice.

The only criterion in the survey was that the car had to be sexy.

In New Zealand, it's hard to determine how many women buy sports cars as a husband's name may be on the woman's ownership papers if the vehicle was a gift. (Note: I'm very willing to accept a sports car as a gift.)

But one sports car that is popular among New Zealand woman is the Audi TT coupe.

"The original Audi TT launched in 1999 and became an instant design icon," says Audi New Zealand's head of marketing Fiona Woolley.

"Our ownership demographics show that TTs are owned by more women than men and from what our customers tell us, it's seen as a car for successful women to aspire to."

It's also a cliche that women are only buying reliable and practical cars like people-movers and SUVs. Instead, you're liable to find convertibles alongside utes in the parents-only parking spots at your local supermarket.

A female Mazda New Zealand employee drives a double cab BX-50 with hard cover. Why? To transport her twin sons and dogs, of course.

And take note car companies: Market research in the US shows women influence 93 per cent of car-buying decisions and buy 65 per cent of new vehicles themselves.

So what cars do women want? According to US auto information website, TrueCar.com, they go for good-looking, affordable cars that are fuel-efficient.

The website sifted through eight million car purchases in 2010 to see what brands and models attracted a high percentage of men and women.

"The study shows that women car buyers are more cost-conscious and purchased fuel-efficient vehicles," says Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends and insights at the site.

But good looks clearly don't hurt. The brand with the highest percentage of female buyers (48 per cent) was the Mini and the top individual model for women (61 per cent) was the Volkswagen New Beetle.

Unlike men, women car buyers avoided high-performance cars with stratospheric prices, according to the survey.

Big is also beautiful for American women, with the gigantic off-roader 2011 GMC Acadia topping Forbes magazine's list of 10 Cars Women Will Love.

The business magazine reckoned females would like the remote keyless entry, the power sunroof and the heated/cooled front seats.

Number two on Forbes' list was Kia's Optima Hybrid. The petrol version was launched in New Zealand this year. Third was Hyundai's Tucson with another mid-size SUV, the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport, in fourth spot. Finishing off the top five was the safety-conscious Volvo coupe C70.

Boo Forbes, what about the Porsche Cayenne or even the two-seater Boxster? Remember, girls just want to have fun.