Few would ever have doubted that South Africans really love their cars, but now there's a little evidence to back that common notion.
In a recent survey undertaken by BP, 96 percent of respondents said they take great pride in the appearance of their cars.
And we don't muck about when it comes to cleaning our cars either. Almost 80 percent of respondents claimed that they clean their cars at least once a week, while only two percent admitted to being so neglectful that their cars only saw a bucket and chamois once a year.
The results imply we're a lot more disciplined than Americans when it comes to cleaning our cars - a similar study in the USA showed that 16 percent of drivers never wash their cars.
NO MATTER IF YOU'RE RICH OR POOR
The survey also showed little difference between how the haves and have-lesses take pride in their rides. 78 percent of those in senior managerial posts said they regularly got out a bucket and sponge while 75 percent of those in lower positions said they are not prepared to drive a dirty car for longer than a week.
The cleanliness habit extends to interiors too, with more than 83 percent of respondents, across the board, saying they don't even leave the occasional piece of rubbish in their cars.
CLEANEST PROVINCE IS…
The survey, in which almost a thousand male and female respondents of all ages took part, also revealed the cleanest and dirtiest provinces in South Africa.
The Northern Cape wins here, with 97 percent washing their cars at least once a week, while the Western Cape was the tardiest, at just 67 percent. Falling between this were the Freestate (94%), KZN (86%), Mpumalanga (85%), North West (79%), Limpopo (77%), Gauteng (76%) and Eastern Cape (73%).
“Whether they are driving a 15-year-old Citi Golf Sonic or sleek new Bentley Continental, South African motorists rich and poor alike take exceptionally good care of their cars,” BP concludes.