Perth defined by its cars

Gosnells car owners love their Holden Commodores. In Leederville and Subiaco, the car of choice is a Volkswagen Golf.

And for the streets of Perth and Northbridge, there is an extraordinary number of LandCruisers.

Figures compiled for The West Australian by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal Perth is a city that can be broken up by its choice of vehicle - and that it is car heaven.

There are more homes with at least four cars in the driveway (40,800) than there are homes without a car (38,500).

Across a dozen selected suburbs, the Toyota Corolla was the most popular vehicle. It is also Australia's top-selling car.

But in Gosnells, the Corolla is not up to the job. There are more than 1700 Commodores registered in postcode 6110. There's another 290 VY Commodores.

And of 45 Kingswoods registered across the dozen suburbs, more than half are in Gosnells.

Gosnells residents also like Falcons of various permutations, with more of them registered than Corollas. But head into the city and the traffic changes.

Perth officially has the most "mining workers" in the country, although the nearest open cut is a 100km away. Yet it is home to 4WDs, with more than 2100 registered in an area that includes Highgate and Northbridge.

There are three times as many LandCruisers registered in the city centre than Corollas or Commodores, a feature of the mining companies with headquarters in the city.

Not that central Perth can lay claim to being prime 4WD territory. The people of Fremantle hold a big proportion of the city's Subaru Foresters. There are more Foresters than Camrys registered in the suburb.

You have to head over to Canning Vale and surrounding suburbs to find a Camry parked outside a house. There are more Camrys registered in Canning Vale than Commodores and almost as many Corollas.

It also houses plenty of Mitsubishi Magnas.

Smaller cars take hold as you move into the Golden Triangle.

From Subiaco all the way to Cottesloe and Peppermint Grove, there is a good chance of finding a Volkswagen Golf driving along next to you.

There are three times as many Golfs registered in the area than there are in central Perth.

If it is not a small car, then the Golden Triangle will deliver up a range of high-end European vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz, Range Rovers, Audis, BMWs, Porsches, Ferraris and Alfa Romeos all are well represented in the area.

Head north and around Sorrento its Mazda country.