Mr or Mrs - who gets the best deal? - Introduction

You wouldn't think it fair if women had to pay more than men for bread or a mobile phone, yet that's what happens when they're shopping for cars.

We sent male and female mystery shoppers to 20 dealerships across the UK with identical stories. Their mission was to negotiate the biggest discounts they could on five cars - a Renault Clio, Ford Focus, Vauxhall Zafira, Honda CR-V and an Audi A4.

What Car?'s latest investigation found that men can get much better discounts in car dealerships, so it begs the question: are salesmen taking female customers for a ride, or are men just better negotiators?