Manchester named one of the most driver-friendly cities in UK

Manchester has been voted as one of the most driver-friendly cities in the UK, according to research.

A survey conducted by Cinch — an online car marketplace — ranked cities across the UK for how accessible they are for drivers, including other factors, and Manchester came in near the top, would you believe!?

We’re not sure whether to celebrate our ranking, laugh at it or be rather concerned about how bad other cities must be for motorists.

Manchester came in at number six out of the 25 cities on the list, which measures some of the key aspects that are driver-friendly – such as fuel prices, cost of parking and traffic congestion.

Our city beat some other northern cities including Newcastle upon Tyne which ranked eighth, Sheffield which ranked 10th, Liverpool which ranked 16th and Leeds which ranked 19th.

Coventry took the top spot, closely followed by Brighton & Hove, Plymouth and Kingston upon Hull.

Unsurprisingly, London came in at the bottom. Everyone knows it’s a nightmare to drive around the capital and prices are much higher there compared to anywhere else. Best to take the Underground!

Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast also fared poorly on the list.

Sam Sheehan, from Cinch, said: “The aim of our research was to find the standout cities in the UK that provide optimal conditions for car drivers.

“Whether you have an Audi A1 or a BMW i8, the top-ranking cities offer an appealing combination of factors that can make drivers’ lives more comfortable and convenient as they hit the road. 

“For example, Coventry, our best-scoring entry overall, has the UK’s highest number of EV public charging points in relation to its population, with an average of 318 public chargers per 100,000 people.

“At the other end of scale, Stoke-on-Trent (20 chargers per 100,000 people) and Wolverhampton (21) are playing catch-up when it comes to public charging. 

“Coventry is joint-second with Bradford as the city with the cheapest parking-space prices within a 10-minute walk from the centre.

“For a one-hour stay between 12pm and 1pm on a Monday, you can expect to pay £1.43 on average in Coventry. If you were in Wolverhampton, the top-ranking city for this metric, it would cost you £1.29 to park your car in town.

“London, on the other hand, will set you back a whopping £9.25 per hour.”

The UK’s most driver-friendly cities:

1. Coventry

2. Brighton & Hove

3. Plymouth

4. Kingston upon Hull 

5. Norwich

6. Manchester

7. Portsmouth

8. Newcastle upon Tyne

9. Bradford

10. Sheffield

11. Derby

12. Wolverhampton

13. Leicester

14. Nottingham

15. Birmingham

16. Liverpool

17. Stoke-on-Trent

18. Southampton

19. Leeds

20. Glasgow

21. Bristol

22. Belfast

23. Edinburgh

24. Cardiff

25. London