Top 10:  cars that lottery winners want most!

1. Land Rover

New Supercharged Range Rover

The top of the table reflects the country’s growing affection for 4x4 vehicles, with the various Land Rover brands taking the top spot. Though reliability has been a big problem for these cars in the past, things have got better recently and in the rough-terrain mud-plugging stakes, Land Rover still reigns supreme whichever one you choose.

2. BMW

New BMW 3-series

Next up is BMW; arguably the flashiest brand in the second tier (the first tier being Rolls Royce, Bentley and so on), the appeal of the blue-and-white propeller remains strong with lottery winners and this should be of no surprise – for better or worse, the cars’ image has “winner” written all over it, though this tends to mean they don’t get let out at junctions much…

3. Jaguar

Jaguar XKR

Jaguar does well in third place; though it has battled against it, the brand still has a slightly ‘old’ reputation so it’s interesting to see this has little effect when people have cashed the big cheque. The lightweight range-topping alluminium XJ's critical acclaim has not been well rewarded with sales, but the car that will really get the lotto-winning classes going is the new XK, a beautiful and highly capable coupe and convertible. Most winners would probably go for the 420hp supercharged XKR - and who could blame them?

4. Ford Fiesta

Ford Fiesta

The presence of the Ford Fiesta seems inexplicable until you remember that the vast majority of lottery-wins aren’t the million pound payouts that grab the headlines, but the more mundane few thousand or so. In that case, buying yourself a decent small car, which the Fiesta certainly is, is not the worst thing you could do.

5. VW Golf

VW Golf

The VW Golf has always been a popular choice, but it has transformed itself into a solid premium hatchback in its most recent incarnation. The excellent new Golf GTI must be high on the shopping list of Lotto winners too.

6. Ford Focus

Ford Focus

The Ford Focus has been Britain’s best selling-car since it replaced the unlamented Escort Mark 6 in 1998, and deservedly so; a solid performer and the best drive in its class, the car has proven attractive with lucky Lotto winners too, and this should continue with the new model, which now has an interior to match its driving ability.

7. Peugeot 206

Peugeot 206

The Coventry-built Pug wowed the country after its launch in 1998 with great looks and a decent drive and was rewarded with sales only over-shadowed by the Focus. However, age caught up on the car and the later launch of variants such as the hot-selling coupe-convertible cannot disguise this. It was replaced at the start of the year with the 207, not built in Coventry unfortunately.

8. Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee

Jeep Grand Cherokee

Not a huge surprise to see this car doing so well, since the Grand Cherokee has established itself as a firm favourite of the ‘aspirational’ classes, not least for its good value; a top-of-the-range 4.7 litre V8 and fully-loaded new one costs just over £35,000, a sum that will only secure you a bottom-of-the-range X5, and a full ten-grand south of the Range Rover’s entry-point. The smaller Cherokee has proved less popular, not aided by looks which have been widely described as “Postman Pat’s Van.”

 

9. Mercedes CLK/CL500

Mercedes CLK convertible

This list wouldn’t be complete without at least one entry from the three-pointed-star of Stuttgart. The CLK is a solid premium performer in either coupe and convertible form, albeit one that is getting on a bit now and due for replacement soon. The CL is a full size bigger and essentially a 2-door S-class and will waft you along in serene comfort. Both of these cars will definitely serve to advertise to the world your happy good fortune.

10. Lexus

Lexus IS200

Toyota’s answer to Mercedes puts in a good showing here, 17 years after the brand launched in the UK. The RX300 4x4 has proved a popular and good value contender in the ‘X5’ bracket, and has recently been joined by a successful hybrid model, the 400h. The Lexus SC430 convertible is expensive and has looks not to everyone’s taste, but the range-topping new LS460 is a luxurious new competitor, with only hefty fuel consumption detracting from the ownership proposition.