The connection between cars and South Australian suburbs
YOUR car says a lot about you — it can even give people clues where you live. We’ve had a look at the statistics, and here’s which cars are most popular in some suburbs of Adelaide.
THEY say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can judge a suburb by the cars parked in its driveways.
The Advertiser has gained exclusive access to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that show which car brands are most popular in each suburb of Adelaide.
And we can report that the highest concentration of Ferraris — 17 of them — reside in the 5068 postcode that takes in the affluent suburbs of Heathpool, Kensington, Leabrook and Trinity Gardens.
Adelaide city follows close behind, while Hectorville and Tranmere have more than their fair share of half-million dollar prancing horses.
They prefer British machinery in the leafy suburbs covered by postcode 5062, which takes in Brown Hill Creek, Clapham, Hawthorn, Kingswood and Mitchim. It’s the Aston Martin (12 cars), Land Rover (117) and Bentley (14) capital of Adelaide.
Rolls Royce buyers on the other hand tend to congregate in the inner city (18), although Mount Barker and the Bugle Ranges are home to more Rollers (9) than most suburbs.
The number of luxury limos and supercars on Adelaide roads pales into insignificance alongside the Melbourne suburb of Toorak, which is the luxury car capital of Australia.
It is home to 65 Ferraris, 39 Rolls Royces, 57 Bentleys and 33 Aston Martins.
David Chalke, principal of the Strategy Planning Group, a market research firm that monitors consumer trends, says it’s natural for people to buy a car that fits in to the suburb where they live.
“Eighty per cent of people don’t want to stand out from the crowd,” he says.
So while you will still see the odd beaten up Toyota HiLux on millionaires’ row, most will reflect the tone of the neighbourhood.
“People tend to aggregate in communities with people like themselves and a car purchase is the ultimate demonstration to the outside world of who you are,” he says.
The same applies for working class areas, where people tend to stick with popular brands.
If you’re looking for Australia’s most popular brand, Toyota, you’ll be most likely to run into one in Salisbury. They are also popular in the middle of the city, although many of those are likely to be company cars.
Salisbury is also home to the highest concentration of Fords and Holdens.
Ironically, Elizabeth, home to Holden’s recently closed assembly plant, ranked only sixth in the list of Holden-owning suburbs.
Japanese machinery is particularly popular in the outer southern suburbs of Aberfoyle Park, Chandlers Hill, Flagstaff Hill and Happy Valley. That area has the highest concentration of Mazdas and Hondas.
They also like their Hyundais and Kias, although the Korean brands are more popular in Morphett Vale and Woodcroft, which are also the number one suburbs for Mitsubishi and Nissan.
When it comes to luxury German sports cars, look no further than three of Adelaide’s most expensive suburbs, Unley Park, Hyde Park and Malvern. It’s home to the most Porsches, followed closely by Glen Osmond, Erindale and Beaumont.
The big three luxury German car makers, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW share the spoils.
Audis are number one in postcode 5062, which takes in Hawthorn, Clapham, Kingswood and Mitcham, while Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs are more likely to be parked in the driveways of homes in postcode 5066 — Beaumont, Erindale and Burnside.
It might surprise to find that the go-anywhere, heavy duty off-road brand Jeep is most popular in Aberfoyle Park, followed by suburbs such as Blakeview, Smithfield, Morphett Vale and Woodcraft. The same applies to Range Rover, which is number one in the heart of the CBD, as well as Norwood, Unley and Hawthorn.
Toyota is the number one brand in South Australia, followed closely by Holden, with Ford a distant third.
BMW is the number one luxury brand, just shading Mercedes-Benz.
Peter Kay, 75, who has been a member of Mercedes Benz and Bentley associations in Adelaide said his home suburb of Springfield was a hot spot for luxury cars.
“There are a lot of prestige cars around Springfield, particularly Mercedes Benz and Jaguars” Mr Kay said.
“It is certainly a suburb well endowed with luxury cars, in particular the sporty ones. You can’t turn a corner without thinking what you might see.”
Mr Kay shifted his brand allegiance to Bentley after purchasing a 1952 R-series from talkback radio host Jeremy Cordeaux.
Since then, he has also purchased a rare ‘95 Bentley Continental S, only three of which were brought to Australia.
He has driven the Continental extensively around Australia and described it as a “great cruising car”.
Most owned brands:
1. Toyota
2. Holden
3. Ford
4. Mitsubishi
5. Mazda
6. Hyundai
7. Nissan
8. Subaru
9. Honda
10. Volkswagen