Car Leasing News

The Hyundai i20 offers great value prices, a 5 year warranty and makes it an attractive option to new car buyers or companies or individuals that contract hire.

CAP, the UK’s leading motor industry data specialist,has reported that the Hyundai i20 will have a better resale value than many if its rivals including the Toyota Yaris, Peugeot 207 and even the Ford Fiesta. CAP reckons the entry level i20 Classic 5 Door will still be worth 47% of its list price after three years and 30,000 miles.

Westfield London, the new shopping complex in W12 , has displayed the new Renault Laguna Coupe in a “Safe Box”.  This new French model will be displayed until the 24th January and goes on sale on the 2nd January 2009.

Contract hire prices should be available shortly at Comparecontracthire.com the UK’s first business and personal contract hire price comparison site.

All makes and models can be compared @ www.comparecontracthire.com from up to 12 finance partners so you can find the best leasing deal.

The Kia Sportage has been voted as “Value for Money Champion” for the third year in a row by the Planet 4X4 awards. This Kia 4×4 comes with a seven year warranty and offers various upgrades, like a better braking system, beefed up suspension and more comfortable seating.

Clearly moving production from Korea to the new plant in Slovakia has helped establish this already successful model. Alan Kidd, editor of Planet 4X4 said  “You’d think we’d be ready for it by now, but each year our testers are startled afresh by what a practical, well built, well equipped and “good to drive” package it delivers”.

Contract Hire prices on the Kia Sportage and all other makes and models are available at Comparecontracthire.com the UK’s first business and personal contract hire price comparison site @ www.comparecontracthire.com

Prices can be compared from up to 12 finance partners.

Ralph Morton, editor of Business Car Manager  has reported that drivers can save up to £120 a year simply by ensuring their tyres are inflated correctly.

It doesn’t take long to check your tyres, however even if you are 10psi under inflated you can use nearly 2.5% more fuel than at the correct tyre pressure, according to Continental Tyres. It will also put you more at risk of an accident.

The national poll showed that only 45 % of drivers in England check their pressures regularly whereas more than half of Irish and Scottish motorists check their tyre pressure every month.

Hyundai is the third manufacturer (after Toyota and a GM/Ford venture) to develop and launch its own six speed automatic transaxle. It will boost fuel economy by 12% and has 62 fewer parts than a five speed version.

The unit is also “filled for life” with automatic transmission fluid and will not need servicing as it will not need to be topped up, Hyundai claims.

The new six speed version went into production in December and five variants will be built to accomodate the Hyundai range of petrol and diesel engines.  A total of 16 Hyundai models will get the new transmission, including the new Santa Fe which should be launched late 2009 early 2010.

Fuel efficiency is on the minds of consumers and small businesses as we all look for cost savings in the current economic climate.

The newly crowned dance champion from the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing show has just taken delivery of a new Fiat 500.

Tom already owns a Fiat 500 and said “I have always loved Fiat 500′s and bought the old one two years ago for my wife Claire. I am really pleased with this new car and am looking forward to driving home to Derbyshire in it for Christmas”.

The model Tom ordered was a Fiat 500 1.4 16V Lounge in Funk White. If you are interested in Fiat 500 car leasing offers or deals then have a look at www.comparecontracthire.com . Here you can compare live quotes on line from up to 12 car leasing companies.

The Fiat 500 is available with a choice of three Euro 5- ready ultra low emission engines: the 60 bhp 1.2 litre and 100 bhp 1.4 litre or the 75 bhp 1.3 litre Multijet turbo diesel. The three different trim levels available are Pop, Sport or Lounge.

Whether business or personal contract hire, the differential in prices, for the same model, can be quite significant between each car leasing company. For example the least expensive Fiat 500 1.2 Pop 3 Door is showing on the site at £152.73 (including VAT) on personal contract hire from Hitachi Capital.

The contract hire terms are non maintained contract hire, three years, payment terms are 3 rentals deposit followed by 35 subsequent rentals at 10,000 miles per annum.

The next closest rental for this car is £172.50 including VAT showing a saving of £19.77 per month or £751.26 over the contract life by using the site.

Nissan announced that it’s all new NV200 compact van will offer best in class cargo efficiency when it goes on sale in early 2009, firstly in Japan. They are anticipating offering a large cargo space of up to 4.1 cubic metres, but with the exterior of a much smaller compact segment van.

The floor layout will offer the ability to load a standard Europallet between the rear wheel arches and will offer a completely new segment in the commercial van market.

The van should be available in Europe by the second half of 2009. So in the meantime if you have a need for a van now and want to try contract hire van lease, there are many other commercial vehicle leasing options available at Comparecontracthire.com, the UK’s first car and van contract hire price comparison site.

UK car production fell by 33.3% in November and is 2.7% down, year to date, reports the SMMT.

Commercial Vehicle production was down by 50.2% for the month causing further concern. The rapid slowdown has been caused by a fall in domestic and export demand. Urgent action by the Government, is called upon by the SMMT, to stimulate growth by proving better access to credit and finance.

The partners on Comparecontracthire.com are all blue chip finance organisations who all have access to substantial vehicle finance funds.  If you are looking for a car or commercial van contract hire quotation you can compare prices from up to 12 finance companies at www.comparecontracthire.com . Then deal direct and save time and money.

The new Skoda Superb has been voted “best gadget” by Sky Motoring. The innovative Parking Assistant used by Skoda, was preferred to BMW and Renault, in the motoring website’s annual awards.

The judges at Sky commented ” It sounds destined for a slot on “It’ll never work” but we tested it several times and shock horror, it actually works”.

The Parking Assistant system is available as an option on all models of the New Skoda Superb and uses a set of ultrasonic sensors placed at various points on the car. These sensors then judge whether a space is large enough to be parked in and also helps in the parking manoeuvre as well. Once the spot has been chosen you engage reverse and the car parks itself. All you need to do is control the speed. The options costs from £350.

This award , for the New Superb, is also added to Caravan Club’s “Towcar of the Year 2008″ so Skoda clearly has a winner.

Full contract hire pricing on the new Skoda Superb is available at Comparecontracthire.com the UK’s first business and personal contract hire price comparison site. Prices can be compared, live on line, direct from up to 12 finance companies @ www.comparecontracthire.com .

The new legislation passed by the European parliament today, sets out tough targets for car manufacturers. Average CO2 emissions from new cars must be reduced to 130 g/km by 2015. This is the equivalent of achieving 58 mpg with a diesel engine or 52 mpg with a petrol engine reports the SMMT.

The new target dates for manufacturers averaging 130 g/km on all models are as follows;

65% of new cars by 2012,  75% by 2013,  80% by 2014 and 100% by 2015 – pretty stretching and an additional 10% must be achieved by using other measures like alternative fuels and tyre pressure monitoring systems.

Manufacturers who do not achieve these targets will be heavily fined per additional gram of CO2 emitted for every car registered across Europe. SMMT Chief Executive, Paul Everitt said ” This is an ambitious piece of legislation presenting a tough challenge to the automotive industry. We share the environmental objectives and welcome the long term framework the legislation sets out”. He went on to say ” At a time of economic uncertainty, it underlines the importance of long term investment in the sector”.

Clearly the resale value of cars that do not meet these future CO2 targets, will be affected in the long run, as the costs of motoring increase.  Businesses and consumers will increasingly look for cars that have better CO2 emissions and better fuel efficiency, in order to save money. The SMMT also says there is a direct link between CO2 emissions and fuel consumption.

Choosing your next car carefully, is therefore really important whether you buy or contract hire lease. The contract hire rentals, for cars with poor emissions and poor mpg performance are likely to increase, as their residual values will have to reflect the impact of this new legislation.