If you drive for an hour on the Brussels Ring on a Friday evening, you soon think that you are starting to see patterns. For example, you will probably be forced into the right lane by a premium German, and you will be stuck there between a few budget Koreans who drive slower than the speed limit. But are you just imagining those patterns, or is there really a link between the type of car and the person driving the device? A British engineering office investigated it, and thus came up with the ideal ammunition for those who want to sow prejudice on social media.
Smart people drive Skoda
To create that ammunition, Scrap Car Comparison collected the data of 2,024 motorists in Great Britain. They all had to take a short IQ test, and that information was then placed side-by-side with that of the car they are driving. The researchers came up with a list of 27 car brands, although five were ultimately deleted due to a lack of relevant data — correct as they are. Either way, this gives us the opportunity to link 22 brands directly to the intelligence of their owners.
• 1: Skoda (99)
• 2: Suzuki (98,09)
• 3: Peugeot (97,79)
• 4: Mini (97,41)
• 5: Mazda (95,91)
• 6: Toyota (95,76)
• 7: Opel/Vauxhall (95,11)
• 8: Mercedes-Benz (94,74)
• 9: Nissan (94,71)
• 10: Seat (94,71)
• 11: Citroën (94,29)
• 12: Hyundai (93,52)
• 13: Renault (93,41)
• 14: Audi (93,25)
• 15: Let (93,01)
• 16: Honda (92,88)
• 17: Ford (92,75)
• 18: Volvo (92,40)
• 19: Volkswagen (92,25)
• 20: BMW (91,68)
• 21: Fiat (90,14)
• 22: Land Rover (88,58)
The results speak for themselves: Skoda drivers are really Simply Clever and Suzuki and Peugeot drivers can also count themselves among the smartest in the class. The rest of the top 10 also consists of relatively modest brands, although Mercedes-Benz is the only premium brand among the smart ones. Its major competitors — Audi and BMW — are considerably lower in the list, with BMW even taking third last place. Only Fiat and Land Rover drivers are apparently even less high beams, if we are to believe the research.
Diesel slimmers and EVs
Incidentally, that study not only examined the link between intellect and car brand, but also a few other factors. For example, Scrap Car Comparison — and that name doesn’t sound more credible the second time around — found that petrol car owners are the smartest (average IQ: 94.35). Hybrid drivers are in second place (93.89), followed by diesels (92.91). The owners of an electric car turned out to be the least intelligent (90.19), which means that the hater fence has really been lifted. Colors were also examined, which showed that the smartest drive a white, gray or red car, while owners of a green car seem to have a significantly lower IQ.
• 1: Wit (95,71)
• 2: Gray (94.97)
• 3: Rood (94,88)
• 4: Blue (93.60)
• 5: Black (92.83)
• 6: Silver (92.67)
• 7: Green (88.43)
We can laugh about it for a while, but remember that the study still examined a relatively limited population. With a spread of 27 brands over 2,024 participants, an average of just under 75 owners per brand were questioned, and the researchers also indicate that the IQ test consisted of only 20 questions and was administered online. We can therefore assume that you cannot just condemn every motorist on the basis of this information… And hereby the undersigned will withdraw into his green Jaguar-Land Rover product.
