Bank of mum and dad on the road

In the 1960s, around 80 per cent of first time car owners funded their purchase themselves, according to the poll by insurance company Aviva.

But now around a third of first cars are paid for by someone else, most likely by mothers and fathers or other family members.

The recent reliance on the bank of mum and dad comes despite the fact that the average age of a first-car owner is now 25 compared with only 21 in the 1960s.

But today’s drivers are much more likely (26 per cent) to have a new car as their first motor than in the 1960s (eight per cent).

In the 1960s only six per cent of first-car owners had their motor insurance paid for by someone else, while now the figure is as high as 21 per cent.

The poll also showed that the most popular first car of the last 50 years was the Ford Escort, followed by the Ford Fiesta, Ford Anglia and Vauxhall Corsa.

Aviva marketing director Heather Smith said owning a first car was a milestone of independence. “Over the past five decades, we have seen a fundamental shift in the typical first car owner. However, despite these changes the nation’s love for affordable classics, from Corsas to Golfs, Fords have stayed at the forefront in the history of the first car and feature as firm favourites across Britain’s driveways.”