By Claire Ottaviano, Craig Butt and Angus Delaney
There are many family traditions that are passed on through the generations, but for one northern suburbs family, allegiance to a particular car brand runs in their blood.
The Cooper family of Tapping own the first and third-most popular car in WA; the Toyota Hilux ute – with 118,575 registered statewide – and the Toyota Corolla.
WAtoday analysis of federal Department of Transport data has revealed the most popular cars by postcode, and which areas buck the trend.
The data includes passenger vehicles such as cars, SUVs and 4WDs and light commercial vehicles such as utes and light trucks.
While the Toyota Hilux ute is the most popular vehicle in the state, the most popular vehicle varies across Perth postcodes.
The Hilux is the most popular vehicle in 39 Perth postcodes, largely in outer suburban areas.
The vehicle that wins out as the top choice of wheels throughout the Perth region is a different Toyota – the Corolla – which is the most popular vehicle in 41 postcodes, largely inner areas.
The Corolla is also the third-most popular model throughout WA.
Mother-of-two Tash Cooper said their choice of car was driven by her husband’s time as a Toyota mechanic apprentice.
“We have always been and probably will always be a Toyota car family,” she said.
The Cooper family from Tapping own two of WA’s most popular cars.Credit: Tash Cooper
“The ute is great for family holidays as we can fit everything we need in the tray and still have heaps of room in the car, and the Corolla is the daily driver and gets us pretty much everywhere.”
They recently upgraded from a petrol Corolla to a hybrid Corolla and saw a noticeable difference in petrol savings.
When the time comes, Tash said their sons would be free to choose their own car brand – perhaps with some gentle prodding in a certain direction.
The second most popular car model is the Toyota LandCruiser, which is the most popular vehicle in 29 suburbs across the north, south and east of Perth.
Two clusters of suburbs at the extremities of the metropolitan area have broken the popularity mould.
Port Kennedy, Baldivis, Anketell, Leda and Wellard favour the Holden Commodore, despite it ceasing production in 2017, while in the far north, Eglinton, Alkimos, Butler, Jindalee and Burns Beach are partial to Hyundai i30s.
University of Western Australia social demographer Amanda Davies said while Perth’s diversity was growing, certain worker types continued to be driven to live in particular suburbs.
“While Perth’s exceptionally tight property market has been driving increased demographic diversity within Perth’s suburbs, there remains a dominance of people who work in the trades living in the mid and outer suburbs,” she said.
“As many who are employed in the trades use utes and vans for work, it is not surprising to see that utes are a popular vehicle choice for households in these areas.”
In the affluent suburbs of Mosman Park, Peppermint Grove, Cottesloe, Scarborough, Nedlands, Crawley, Dalkeith and Wembly Downs, the Toyota Landcruiser and the Landcruiser Prado feature heavily.
“Conversely, looking at employment data for the western suburbs where Landcruisers and Prados are particularly popular, there is no clear employment reason for the popularity of these vehicles,” Davies said.
“In this case, car choices are likely to be more closely tied to social norms than work needs.
“A similar observation can be made when considering the popularity of Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons in outer suburbs south of Perth.”
She said the data provided insight into where infrastructure might be needed in the future to support planning for a transition towards hybrid and electric vehicles.
The popularity of Ford Falcons registered in the Perth CBD may be attributed to company registered vehicles.
A Department of Transport spokesperson said the data informed decision-making for the public and private sectors.
“This data is made publicly available to support governments, industry and other stakeholders to better understand Australia’s current vehicle fleet and how it is changing over time,” they said.
“This can inform government policy development and planning, as well as wider community awareness. The data is also used by the insurance, second hand motor vehicle, and motor vehicle repairers and parts industries to inform business planning.”
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