dimanche 22 septembre 2013

Why do French people drive small cars ?

French cars are small by Nigerian standards.

The Frenchies love to drive small compact cars. It is very popular to see mini and micro cars in French big cities. 
Have you ever wondered why? When i first visited France in 2010, i was amazed at how small their cars are compared to the big cars i am used to seeing in Lagos and Abuja. 

Most French people drive sedans such as Audi A5 , Citroen C5 , Peugeot 607, BMW. It is rare to see cars like Range Rover Sports, Cadillac Escalade, Continental GT Bentley, Rolls Royce Phantom, Infiniti QX56. 

You don't get to see a pick-up truck, 4x4 and SUV in big cities like Paris, Marseille, Nice, Lyon. They are mostly used in mountains and countryside.
Living in France today, i understand better why French people drive small cars. Here are some of the reasons based on my own opinions...
  • French roads are small, it's better to have a small car to fit into them
  • Fuel is very expensive in France and small cars don't consume much
  • French roads are in good conditions, they don't need 4X4 to ply their roads
  • Parking is rare in France, when you find a place, it's easier when you have a small car
  • French people who don't get fat due to their good eating habits are able to fit comfortably into these cars
  • The French couples have between one and two children, they don't need big cars for the whole family
  • The new French tax schemes add extra fees to vehicles that emit more CO2 while buyers of cars that emit less than 130g/km of CO2 actually get money back.  200 Euros to 5,000 Euros.  Rebates can be up to 5,000 Euros.
The French people also love 2-door cars. They also prefer to drive manual transmissions as they believe automatic cars are more for old people.
Even when the cars have four doors, you have the impression that they have just two.
4-door cars are often considered as family cars. During the week-end, when the family go out together, you see more of family cars in form of minivans like Citroen C4 , Peugeot 807 , Chrysler voyager.
Even their vans are small...
Police cars are small as well.

French cars are just too small for the nigerian market, it's no wonder why we don't see them on our roads

3 commentaires:

  1. and here I was thinking those small cars were part of the comedy in the french comedy movies I watched. lol. danielle

  2. French cars are small, ugly and fwd with low power small engine like in french comedy movies,
    france is THE autophobic country who make autophobic cars peugeot renault citroen but in france they are jealous and envious of big and beautiful high power german cars, american cars v8, japonese high power cars, english big cars, the criminal in france it's the driver and the great criminal is the driver of high power cars v6 v8 v10 or v12 or more than 200 hp car......in france you must to buy a renault peugeot or citroen and to roll with a bicycle if you want to be politicaly correct.... as in french movies......

  3. And 80% of cars in france are diesel !!!!! King of pollution