Buying priorities in the north and south of the UK are subtly different, according to Auto Trader research. Northern motorists have markedly greater interest in cars like the Vauxhall Vectra and Ford Mondeo, whereas their southern counterparts seem more disposed to the idea of driving sportscars.

Four-by-four vehicles are not more popular in the north where the weather is more likely to be severe. Generally, there was little difference between the two, and if anything there was slightly greater demand in the south, driven by what is perceived to be fashionable.

Auto Trader research suggests budgets for categories of car vary regionally. With mainstream cars like superminis and family cars, the price levels were virtually identical across the country. But with more upmarket vehicles, people seemed to set different budgets for each type of vehicle.

An Auto Trader spokesman said: “Overall, the executive sector is proportionately becoming less popular but there are some different priorities across the country. In the north there seems to be a greater demand for more expensive used executive cars, relative to demand in the south.

“However, more affluent southerners have chosen instead to focus their attention on sportscars. That said, overall demand is still more focused on the lower end of the price scale than is the case for executive cars.

“This attraction to fashionable sportscars might help to explain why our southern users spend longer looking for their cars, running an average of 17 searches each compared to 15 by their northern counterparts.”