Who DO we despise BMW drivers so much? And was Jeremy Clarkson right?

The study by leasing company OSV Ltd also found that women drivers are less likely than men to show courtesy to BMW drivers, with 30 per cent of women refusing to slow down to let a BMW into traffic from a side street.

Male drivers are most likely to close the gap between themselves and the car in front if they see a Subaru waiting to join the main road, whilst Audi, Mercedes and Land Rover owners are also deeply unpopular with other motorists.

However Howard Walker, the communications director of the BMW Car Club GB, said the survey did not reflect his own experiences as a long-time BMW owner.

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“I have been driving BMWs for 25 years and the only problems I have had are with young, female drivers of small French cars,” said Mr Walker, from Slaithwaite, Huddersfield.

“I have heard of other BMW drivers facing prejudice but it’s the same for drivers of other good cars: we face resentment from people who drive inferior cars.”

The survey’s findings reaffirm the results of other reports which appear to stand up the perception of BMW drivers as being rude, aggressive and arrogant.

A 2010 survey found half that half of all British drivers had had a “bad experience” at the hands of a BMW driver, and a US survey concluded that BMW drivers were the least likely to slow down or stop for a pedestrian on a public crossing.

Doncaster-born broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson once described BMWs as “designed by Germans, driven by tossers” before revising his opinion a few years later by suggesting that “the c**ks who used to drive BMWs have now migrated to Audis.”

Mr Walker said Clarkson was not held in high esteem by members of the BMW Car Club and that it was unfair to label all BMW drivers as rude or aggressive.

“There is a notice in a shop in Slaithwaite which says ‘The bill depends on the attitude of the customer’ and I feel when it comes to cars, a lot depends on who’s behind the wheel more than what badge is on the front of the car,” said Mr Walker, who drives a BMW 730d. “If you drive courteously, then other drivers will treat you with courtesy.

“Clarkson has an axe to grind with the BMW Car Club GB: he took one of our cars out a few years ago for a review and when it came back the tyres had been knackered completely.

“They were burned down to the bare metal and we had to do some chasing to get them replaced.

“After that we never lent him a car again.”

The OSV survey also revealed that over three-quarters of motorists do not let drivers out if they see them using their mobile phones. Nearly half (49.7 per cent) would not let out a driver who was eating, 33.8 per cent would not let out a ‘souped-up’ car, 23.3 per cent would not let out a car that was driving under the speed limit, 18.3 per cent would not let out a bus, 13.8 per cent would not let out a car that had a bumper sticker, 8.4 per cent would not let out a learner driver and 5.8 per cent would not let out a car that was dirty.