We have been featuring driving tips from driver training specialist IAM Drive & Survive, with the good advice from head of training, Simon Elstow. This week he is advising on parking your vehicle.

• Do try to park on the left-hand side of the road if possible, and always at night.
• In a car park, try and reverse into parking spaces as this is safer when driving out of a space, and more fuel efficient as you’ll be manoeuvring with a warm engine, rather than cold one when you start up .
• Always check your mirrors and over your shoulder frequently – you still need to know what’s going on around you and don’t just rely on parking sensors to guide you.
• When looking for a parking place, don’t stop your car suddenly. Drive slowly past a potential parking space and size it up to see if your vehicle will fit. And if you can’t stop because you have traffic behind you, drive on.
• When visiting a supermarket , try and park away from the trolley parks and corners to avoid your car being exposed to damage from trolleys full of shopping!
• When parking, open your window in car parks and turn off your stereo as you can often hear something before you can see it.

Elstow said: “Parking is an essential part of driving which many people find stressful. Don’t feel pressurised by other drivers waiting for you to park – it’s important to take your time.”

New BMW X6

The BMW X6 is the world’s first ever Sports Activity Coupe and has now been updated for 2012. The new model combines the elegant lines of a coupe with the prestige of a BMW X model, with powerful petrol and diesel engines, fitted with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology and the intelligent all-wheel-drive system xDrive, including Dynamic Performance Control.

The new BMW X6 gets a new front end with the standard fog lights now set in matt finish surrounds in the upper area of the outer air inlets. The striking three-dimensional modelling of the frame and newly designed bars, angled in the lower section, make the BMW kidney grille stand out even more, especially conspicuously within the vehicle front section.

Front headlights

The new BMW X6 is also the first vehicle in its segment to be fitted optionally with adaptive LED headlamps. Their bright white light ensures optimum visibility, while their high-quality visual appearance represents a new interpretation of the BMW brand’s hallmark twin circular headlamps. While in the new BMW X6 M, adaptive LED headlights are fitted as standard.

The external paint finishes for the new BMW X6 consists of two non-metallic and eight metallic colours, including Marrakech Brown metallic, Orion Silver metallic and Midnight Blue metallic. The standard equipment range also includes 19-inch light alloy wheels, and in the 8-cylinder model BMW X6 xDrive 50i, these now feature a new double spoke design in bi-colour. 

The standard interior leather trim Nevada is also available in the colour Vermilion Red and the exclusive nappa leather option with extended features now includes a choice between the colours Black and Ebony White. A three-seater rear bench is optionally available instead of the standard four seats and the luggage compartment volume is 570 litres and can be extended to up to 1,450 litres by folding down the rear backrests.

The petrol and diesel engines with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology available for the BMW X6 deliver impressive pulling power and impressive low fuel consumption figures. The V8 engine of the BMW X6 xDrive50i delivers 407 bhp, while in the BMW X6 xDrive35i an in-line 6-cylinder petrol engine with 306 bhp ensures a smooth, powerful, performance.

The in-line 6-cylinder diesel engines of the models BMW X6 xDrive40d and BMW X6 xDrive30d offer 306 bhp and 245 bhp respectively. Both engines offer not only impressively sporty power delivery but also low emission figures. The BMW X6 xDrive30d can also be fitted with optional BMW BluePerformance Technology as of spring 2012. 

BMW is also launching the BMW M Performance Automobile BMW X6 M50d and this car sets a new benchmark for pulling power and efficiency with a newly developed 381 bhp in-line 6-cylinder diesel engine. It offers unique triple turbocharging and provides the world’s most powerful standard in-line 6-cylinder diesel engine. This powerful diesel model has an acceleration rate of 5.3 seconds for the sprint from zero to 62mph.

One million cars from Kia

The Kia Motors Manufacturing Slovakia has just built its 1,000,000^th car – a white, diesel-engined cee’d SW. The car was handed over to a Slovakian children’s charity, the Red Nose Clowndoctors. The cee’d is also the 600,000th version of the Zilina factory’s first car, plus the factory now produces the Sportage and Venga as well.

“Kia Motors Slovakia has achieved an important milestone in its history with the production of the millionth car. We decided to donate it to an organisation which will bring pleasure to children during their stay in hospitals,” said Eek-Hee Lee, President and CEO of Kia Motors Slovakia.

Nissan LEAF

RCS, a Nottinghamshire based printer, is reducing its transport emissions with fleet of six new Nissan LEAF EVs and using the new ABB rapid charger, this allows the LEAF to be charged to 80% capacity in less than 30 minutes. The company is also using solar panels and other energy reduction strategies to reduce their annual energy bill by £78k, thereby charging the LEAFs for free

“The environment forms a key part of our company ethos and our fleet of Nissan LEAFs build on our vision of becoming the UK’s most environmentally friendly printer,” explained Michael Todd, MD of RCS. “The LEAF is the first practical five door, five seat EV on the UK market and our staff have embraced all aspects of the car which is why we kept adding them to our fleet.”

Some of the unusual vehicle registrations at the forthcoming DVLA Personalised Registrations sale includes that old British favourite of “fish and chips”– CH11 PPY.

CH11 PPY, along with MA11 ORY, is just one of the unique 11-series registrations being listed among the 1,500 registration plates which will go under the hammer during the DVLA‘s first three-day sale of 2012 at Stratford Manor Hotel near Stratford-upon-Avon, commencing on Wednesday, February 1.

Or is you fancy something to remind you of the hit TV show The Only Way Is Essex – or TOWIE as it has become known – TOW 111E is another example of some of the fun-plates that motorists can purchase. Or with Mother’s and Father’s Days coming up soon, how about H15 MUM and H15 DAD, both with reserves of £900?

Jody Davies, DVLA Personalised Registrations’ Events Manager, said: “We always manage to come up with an incredible array of personalised registrations to suit all tastes and, with reserves starting from as little as £250, this auction is no exception.”

You can fit a personalised plate if you lease a vehicle however you will need to get permission from your relevant leasing company, as they own the vehicle.

Here are some of the plates on sale with reserve prices in brackets;

• AL51 NGH (reserve -  £900)
• ALF 4W (£450)
• APE 80Y (£400)
• CAR 70Y (£400)
• CH11 PPY (£1,500)
• COP 80Y (£400)
• DRU 111D (£400)
• EL11 NOR (£1,000)
• FE11 OWS (£1,500)
• FUN 80B (£450)
• H15 DAD (£900)
• H15 MUM (£900)
• JAB 80Y (£400)
• MA11 ORY (£1,000)
• 55 O (£8,000)
• OBT 41N (£400)
• 12 OOO (£4,000)
• SA11 MON (£3,000)
• TOW 111E (£400)
• USA 848E (£400)
• VO11 LVO (£1,500)
• YE11 OUT (£900)
• YES 848Y (450)
• YOU 105T (£400).

The Freight Transport Association has announced that GreenRoad, a leader in driver performance and road safety management, is the latest partner of the association’s innovative Van Excellence scheme.

GreenRoad is designed to significantly reduce crash incidents and cut fuel consumption by enhancing driver performance while behind the wheel and a typical GreenRoad customer sees up to a 10% reduction in fuel consumption and emissions, as well as a 50% reduction on collision costs.  

The Van Excellence scheme aims to raise standards and improve the image of the UK’s growing van sector and includes a tough accreditation system and a strict code of practice. It is backed by many household names and is a standard set by van operators for use by van operators, formalising “best working” practices already used by leading companies in the commercial vehicle sector.  

Mark Cartwright, FTA’s Van Project Manager, said:

“We are delighted to have GreenRoad on board as partners of Van Excellence.  As leaders in driver performance and safety management they bring a huge amount of value to the scheme in terms of experience and expertise, and their support is invaluable.”

For further information on the Van Excellence scheme visit www.fta.co.uk

Skoda MissionL

SKODA’s is attending the 2012 Qatar Motor Show where it will be showcasing their MissionL concept saloon. This car is a close-to-production concept and reveals the future design direction for the SKODA brand. The visit to the Qatar Motor Show also demonstrates their future international growth strategy plans.

The new compact MissionL saloon will be launched in late 2012 and will extend the model range of the brand in a new segment between the Fabia and Octavia models. The MissionL is destined for Qatar as well and SKODA aims to substantially increase their global sales of all car models to at least 1.5 million units per year, by 2018. In addition to the MissionL, SKODA is also displaying the latest Fabia, Octavia, Yeti and Superb models at the show.

The MissionL concept saloon impresses with its clear and precise lines with the front showing SKODA’s new brand design. The revised and freshened-up SKODA logo is now prominently positioned on the bonnet’s rounded front end and the grille sports a chrome frame and is made of vertical plate fins. There is also a black transparent glass roof that spans across the car’s interior with the cockpit conveying its spaciousness thanks to its horizontal arrangement.  

If you are interested in leasing a brand new Skoda car then we have the full Skoda model range on the site on contract hire.

Jaguar XF

Jaguar has just launched two new XF models, the SE Business and Sport editions and has also been voted ‘Executive Car of the Year’ by BusinessCar.co.uk

Paul Barker, Editor of BusinessCar said: ‘Jaguar’s XF has proved its appeal to the business car market with appeal to both the heart and the head thanks to its stylish looks and good running costs. Jaguar has worked hard to improve the car’s attractiveness to corporate drivers with the excellent new 2.2-litre engine, and is making further improvements that will only enhance the XF’s chances of retaining this award – decided by the readers of BusinessCar – in 2013.’

The SE Business comes with the new 2.2-litre Diesel 163 PS output engine and adds satellite navigation with seven inch touchscreen and HDD mapping to the standard specification, which includes intelligent start stop, a 400W sound system with DAB digital radio, leather and suedecloth seats and bi-Xenon headlights.

The Sport model is based on the more powerful 2.2 Diesel 190 PS engine and adds the full aerodynamic pack which includes a revised front bumper, a black grille element, side sill extensions, a subtle rear boot lid spoiler and a black rear valance.

The XF Sport also features half leather suedecloth seats, bond grain trim and a dove contrast stitch as well as electric driver and passenger adjustment. Piano black trim with ‘Sport’ decals on the centre console are matched with stainless steel foot pedals, plus heated front windscreen and front seats, a front parking aid, reversing camera and 60/40 folding rear seats.

Fiat 500 TwinAir

The Fiat 500 has just won the City Car honours in the 2012 BusinessCar Awards, for the fourth consecutive year. This award is voted for by the readers of BusinessCar magazine and is decided entirely by the business car industry, carrying with it the approval of the fleet market. The vote was also for the entire 500 range rather than just a specific model showing how extensive the Fiat 500 range is.

“Fiat’s 500 has again proved to be a business car market favourite, and Fiat’s advancement with its TwinAir technology has enhanced the excellent city car’s appeal to the sector,” commented Paul Barker, editor, BusinessCar. “The readers of BusinessCar are obviously fans of the 500’s combination of fun and frugality, having picked it as their favourite city car for the fourth year in a row.”

The Fiat 500 is available with a choice of low CO2 emissions Euro 5 engines, the 85bhp 0.9-litre TwinAir, 69 bhp 1.2-litre and 100bhp 1.4-litre petrol, and the 95 bhp 1.3-litre MultiJet turbodiesel. Fiat 500 contract hire is on the site on all models.

up! five-door

Volkswagen’s award-winning up! city car is now easier than ever to get into with the introduction of the new five-door model. The new five-door up! has a 2.42 m long wheelbase that offers you impressive interior space, a large 251-litre boot, an efficient three-cylinder engine, new-to-the-class safety features plus an innovative infotainment system. 

Rear passengers in the five-door up! will benefit from exactly the same space as those in the three-door model, with 947 mm of headroom (versus 993 mm in the front) and 789 mm of legroom.  The rear seat base is also set a little bit higher than that in the front, at 378 mm (versus 306 mm) giving rear passengers a clearer view of the road ahead.

the up! five-foor comes front and side airbags, ABS with Hydraulic Brake Assist, Isofix child seat preparation in the rear and standard ESP (on all but the entry level Take up! model). It can also be ordered with an optional City Emergency Braking system.  The innovative City Braking System uses sensors to scan the space ahead of the vehicle, applying the brakes automatically if it detects that the car is about to hit an object in front. The up! has a five-star Euro NCAP rating and also the Advanced Award from the European New Car Assessment Programme as well.

Thr first UK deliveries of the five-door Volkswagen up! are expected to start in the second half of the year with prices yet to be confirmed. Volkswagen contract hire prices for the three-door up! are on the site now.