British motorists are ignoring attempts to push them towards smaller, greener vehicles, with demand for larger cars reaching record levels this year.

Figures released by used car supermarket Carcraft show that sales of cars with engines of 2000cc and above have increased despite the introduction of higher vehicle duty and the increasing cost of petrol.

Car buyers opting for these larger vehicles made up 11.5% of all sales in the first ten months of 2007, compared to 9.5% in 2006.

This is the first time that larger cars have represented more than one in ten used cars sold in the UK.

Older, male drivers are leading this trend.

Over three-quarters (79%) of drivers buying cars over 3000cc were male and a quarter (26%) were men aged between 51 and 65 years old.

Mike Walsh, sales director at Carcraft says: "The figures are surprising given the increased running costs of larger vehicles, but clearly drivers of prestige cars aren't being put off. In fact quite the opposite appears to be the case.”