4x4 equals Chelsea

The term ‘Chelsea Tractors' might be an offhand expression for all the 4x4s driven by people living in towns and cities, but new research proves the nickname is an accurate one as the district of Chelsea in London has the highest proportion of 4x4s anywhere in the UK!

Women's car insurance specialist Diamond looked at over 2.5 million male and female motorists across the UK to find out who's driving 4x4s and where they live. Although some rural areas in Scotland with wild terrain and harsh winters are on the list, it's mainly dominated by leafy urban areas in London, and the Home Counties; not known for their mountainous landscape. And at the top of the list is the upmarket area of Chelsea, which gave its name to the type of 4x4s which only see city roads on shopping trips or the school run.

Diamond managing director, Elwyn Gedrych, commented, "Over recent years an array of new 4x4 vehicles have entered the market, such as the Range Rover Sport. These have attracted the driver who wants the performance of a car but the size of a 4x4, and can now be seen in large numbers on our roads. These vehicles are obviously particularly popular in Chelsea, in fact almost 1 in 5 cars driven in Chelsea is a 4x4."

But who is driving all these 4x4s? Diamond also looked at which occupations most often own 4x4s. Unsurprisingly farmers appear in the top 3, however, above them in first place are haulage contractors followed by bank directors in second. Also in the top 10 are property developers, stockbrokers and publicans.

Predictably, with most of these occupations being traditionally male-dominated, the research shows that men are more likely than women to drive a 4x4.

Elwyn continued, "You'd expect farmers to be among the most likely to drive a 4x4 but the variety of other jobs in the list emphasises how popular 4x4s have become away from what they were originally designed for. Many people see them as a status symbol, and some people perceive them to be safer for passengers."

What are all these 4x4 drivers behind the wheel of? The most popular is the Range Rover followed by the Land Rover Freelander and Honda CRV:

1. Range Rover
2. Land Rover Freelander
3. Honda CRV
4. Land Rover Discovery
5. BMW X5