Careful objective assessment is a small part of any new car purchase. Any rational analysis would anyway show a new car as pretty poor value when measured against the same model at a year old and 12k miles. The only real exception to this generalisation is when buying a car to keep for 7-10 years where the extra initial cost can be spread over a long period.
Main constraint is cost - but many will extend this with PCP and other fixes. Man maths really - they have simply found a way to spend more than they need or can afford.
Brand image is all - and advertising supports this. The BMW driver is never a builder or farmer. Families drive cross over vehicles - often doing sporty things in the countryside. Small cars are driven by young attractive energetic people not grandad!
Some go for performance vastly in excess of anything necessary, and often entirely beyond the ability of the average punter to control ieven on a track.
Some create largely illusory needs - 4WD for the school run where one might need to mount a kerb, I must have a car with a particular set of gizmos (heated seats, parking sensors, folding mirrors etc etc), it must have a 7sp autobox, etc. These people are happy to pay £'000s for the pleasure.
Pensioners are probably the most rational group as incomes are to some extent limited. So they will select a new car because it is reliable, ease of entry, adequate speed,power, acceleration for their actual needs etc.
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