That’s a victory for Nissan, which aimed the Rogue specifically at the female consumer. The car was introduced for 2008 and has become one of Nissan’s best-selling models — so much so that the automaker is moving production of the car to the United States from Japan next year.
Oddly, in the Top 10 “Cars Women Love” identified by the study, there were no Toyota vehicles.
But among the 10 vehicles most loved by men, the Toyota Tundra pickup was ninth on the list, just behind the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, but ahead of the Ford F-150, in 10th place.
The report, titled “Fenders by Gender,” also ranked cars that were equally popular with men and women.
At the top of that list of 10 vehicles was the Chrysler 300, a sedan based on the same architecture as Dodge Charger.
No surprise here: Women favor practical cars, with low and midpriced crossover utility vehicles preferred most, while men want power and performance.
“Common ground seems to exist” between men and women, however, when it comes to economy cars, the report said, with vehicles on the Top 10 list of ones equally favored including the Mitsubishi Eclipse (second place), Chevrolet Aveo (third), Volkswagen Jetta (seventh), Hyundai Santa Fe (ninth) and Hyundai Sonata (10th).
All of those except the Santa Fe begin under $20,000 — and one, the Aveo subcompact, starts under $12,000.
Although the Santa Fe is pricier than the others, it is one of the least expensive compact crossovers, with a base price under $22,000.
In addition to the Chrysler 300, men and women did agree on another not-so-economy car. The $48,000-plus Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster (with a retractable hardtop) came in eighth among the vehicles the two genders agreed upon.
“When it comes to cars, guys are definitely predictable, with the perennial favorite Porsche 911 topping the list,” said Langley Steinert, founder and CEO of CarGurus. “Women seem to be more interested in cars that combine practicality with style.
“Where we see the most common ground is with economy and midrange priced cars, perhaps a sign that price and value is one area where both genders agree,” he said.
On the list of women’s favorites were a couple of surprises: the Lincoln MKX, a midsize luxury crossover with a $40,000 starting price; and the Nissan Armada, a full-size, truck-based SUV that begins at $38,000.
The women’s 10 favorites, from top down, were the Rogue, Ford Escape Hybrid crossover, Kia Rio subcompact sedan (starts under $13,000), Dodge Journey midsize crossover, Armada, subcompact Honda Fit, Volkswagen New Beetle (which has an undeserved reputation as a “chick car”), Nissan Quest minivan, Dodge Avenger midsize sedan and the MKX.
For the men, the 10 favorites were the 911, Chevrolet Corvette sports car (no surprise), Dodge Ram 2500 Heavy Duty pickup, Subaru Impreza compact sedan (but most likely the street-legal racecar version, the WRX, which offers up to 305 hp), Mercedes-Benz SL-class (two-passenger convertibles ranging from $102,000 to $199,000), Ford F-250 Super Duty pickup, BMW M3 performance coupe/sedan/convertible, Silverado, Tundra and F-150.
The 10 most-agreed-on vehicles were the Chrysler 300, Eclipse, Aveo, Jeep Commander full-size SUV, Dodge Nitro compact crossover, Toyota Highlander midsize crossover, Jetta, SLK, Santa Fe and the Sonata, Hyundai’s wildly successful, edesigned midsize sedan.
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