Kia Track'ster concept car

The new Kia Track’ster concept car was created in the California Design Studio and is envisaged with a 250PS Petrol engine. It was launched by Kia at the Chicago auto show and is based on the popular Soul urban crossover. Last year, more than 102,000 Souls were delivered to US customers and Kia sees the US vehicle market as an attractive proposition.

This Kia concept has a powerful, dynamic and aggressive style, yet displays the distinctive design direction that the South Korean manufacturer is taking. The Track’ster is intended to be a sporting representation of Kia’s Soul B- segment SUV, which was originally created in the California Studio.

The California Studio is also the birthplace of the Soul’ster convertible concept that is currently under final assessment for production, however there are no plans for Track’ster to enter production just yet. But this could change if public demand for the concept is strong. If you are also interested in leasing a new Kia Soul we have Kia contract hire on the site now.

Audi A5 Sportback 2.0 TDIe

The new generation midsize Audi coupe and Sportback models are now available with even more cost-effective TDIe versions and new specification making them an even more desirable package. The new 136PS and 163PS 2.0-litre TDIe versions of A5 Sportback are now available priced from £27,320 OTR and £27,825 OTR respectively, with the 163PS TDIe engine also available in A5 Coupe priced from £28,775 OTR.

Performance figures for the TDIe engines is impressive as follows;

• A5 Sportback 2.0 TDIe 136PS six-speed manual – 0-62mph in 9.5 seconds, top speed 132mph, combined MPG 64.2, CO₂117g/km
• A5 Coupe 2.0 TDI 163PS six-speed manual – 0-62mph in 8.4 seconds, top speed 140mph, combined MPG 64.2, CO₂115g/km

There is also a new SE Technik specification available for all four-cylinder TDI models in both body styles that saves up to £1,925, compared with specifying additional options individually.

In both the A5 Sportback and A5 Coupe models, all the four-cylinder TDI engines can be combined with a new, highly cost effective SE Technik specification which was first seen in the A4 Saloon and Avant ranges. The Technik specification adds DVD satellite navigation, Audi Music Interface (AMI) iPod connection, the Audi Parking Plus system with front and rear sensors and cruise control to the familiar SE equipment list.

The SE specification in both models already includes 17-inch alloy wheels, Milano leather upholstery, three-zone climate control, Bluetooth mobile phone preparation and a colour Driver’s Information System (DIS), which is pretty generous. Both TDIe engines are available allied to Standard, SE and S line trim in the A5 Sportback, and Standard and SE in the Coupe and we should have Audi contract hire prices loaded shortly.

New Peugeot Expert Van

The new Peugeot Expert Tepee will be unveiled as a world premiere at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show in March and will be available in the UK, along with the new Peugeot Expert Van from around mid-March 2012. The new Peugeot Expert incorporates the new Peugeot style codes, has new equipment and a range of Euro 5 engines which position it as a market leader in its segment, for lowest CO₂ emissions.

New Peugeot Expert Tepee

The new Peugeot Expert will be available as a Compact Van or Combi (Tepee) and here are some of the headlines for this new model.

• The Peugeot Expert has a modern appearance, introducing a new front face
• It comes with high-performance and efficient Euro 5 engines
• Offers best-in-class low CO₂ emissions for the Expert Tepee – 172g/km
• The 2.0l HDi Expert Van delivers the best power/CO₂ emissions ratio -168g/km
• Introduces a 6-speed automatic gearbox on the 2.0-litre HDi 163bhp engine.

DVLA personalised registration plate sale

A mystery businessman has just purchased DH11 LON for nearly £80,000 at the DVLA’s first personalised registrations sale of 2012. Dhillon is a popular Asian surname, but no one expected that the plate would sell for as much as as £80,000 during the first day of the Agency’s three-day sale staged at the Stratford Manor Hotel near Stratford-upon-Avon.

The plate was tagged with a reserve of £2,000, however the bidding soon got going with the final winning bid at £61,000. However, the total amount paid was £79,100, because of the VAT on the hammer price, buyer’s premium, VAT on the buyer’s premium and assignment fee.

Jody Davies, DVLA Personalised Registrations’ Events Manager, said: “What a way to start our 2012 programme? We were hopeful DH11 LON would create some interest, but no one predicted it would fetch such a high figure. We are delighted, of course, but a little stunned.”

Fiat Doblo Cargo

Fiat has just launched a new 3 years unlimited mileage warranty offer across its award-winning Doblò Cargo and Combi range and is currently available on all new Doblò Cargos and Combis registered to business users until 31 March. The enhanced warranty increases the mileage period to unlimited rather than 120,000 miles, adds to the existing 3 years’ AA Assurance cover, which includes Roadside Assistance, Home Start, Relay, Relay Plus & European cover.

“This unlimited mileage warranty offer on Doblo Cargo further underlines the confidence that Fiat Professional has in this award-winning vehicle,” says Sebastiano Fedrigo, Director, Fiat Professional UK.

“Since its launch, Fiat Professional’s Doblo Cargo has been very well received for its quality and reliability, both by the media and by customers. This enhancement to the warranty package provides customers with yet another reason to purchase this class-leading van.”

The new Doblo comes in eight different versions – Cargo, Cargo Maxi, Cargo SX, Cargo Maxi SX, Combi, Combi Maxi, Platform Cab and Work Up – offering something for a wide spectrum of commercial vehicle users. The engine line-up is a 1.4-litre 16v 95bhp petrol unit and four MultiJet 16v diesels – 1.3 (90bhp), 1.6 (105bhp), 1.6 MTA (90bhp) and 2.0 (135bhp). 

Start&Stop, which stops the engine automatically whenever traffic conditions bring the van to a complete halt, and restarts it when the driver wants to move off again – is fitted on all Euro 5 Doblo versions to give you up to 15 per cent fuel savings, and the vehicles offer a low CO₂ figure from just 126g/km. Fiat Doblo Cargo contract hire is on the site now.

The government has announced that it is going to maintain the current MOT test frequencies and concentrate on improving testing standards and cracking down on clockers, which is welcome news. The British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) chief executive, John Lewis, commented as follows:

“The once a year after three years model works perfectly well for cars and vans as long as test centres do their job properly. Our only disappointment is that the government didn’t listen to our calls for safety recall notices to be made an MOT criterion. It is ridiculous that a car can pass its MOT while having an outstanding safety recall notification that hasn’t been dealt with.”

“We would also urge the government to go further in clamping down on clockers by introducing some sort of licensing system for mileage adjustment companies.”

New Honda Civic

The all new 2012 Civic advert hits TV screens to coincide with the car arriving at Honda showrooms, with customer test drives available from today, the 1st February.

The TV campaign can also be viewed on Honda’s youtube channel www.youtube.com/hondacivicuk and the advert follows the spark of an idea from conception in the Honda factory, the development of the car, before finally resulting in the new Civic being launched.  

Martin Moll, Head of Marketing, Honda (UK), commented “Our dealers are incredibly excited about taking the launch activity to the next phase and get customers in the car. Everyone here at Honda (UK) is looking forward to receiving customer feedback and we are confident it will be even more successful than its predecessor.”

“We have timed the launch of the TV advert to coincide with the first cars arriving in showrooms to really maximise awareness. The advert is a synopsis of the unknown journey the engineers took to continuously improve the Civic and is brought to life in a dramatic reveal of the new model at the end.” 

The Honda Civic is now in its ninth generation and prices start from just £16,495 for the entry-level 1.4-litre 100PS i-VTEC SE, with trim levels of SE, ES, EX and EX GT available. All models offer comfort, convenience and new technology as standard with Honda contract hire prices on the site now.

Juke Shiro

The new Nissan Juke Shiro has just arrived to top the range and comes with unique white interior features, a new exterior colour and dark grey 17-inch alloys with satin silver mirrors and handles.

The Shiro replaces Kuro (Kuro is the Japanese word for black) limited edition and Shiro moves to the opposite side of the colour spectrum as it means white in Japanese. The Juke Shiro comes with a host of white details to mark it out from lesser models in the range.

Inside the Shiro

The centre console is painted white, as are the door panels and window switch surrounds. The leather wrapped steering wheel, gear gaiter and the edges of the leather seats all feature white stitching, while the seats themselves have a double layer fabric with a white background colour visible through the perforated leather facing.

The interior also gets a leather covered centre armrest complete with white stitching, which also provides additional storage; illuminated chrome-plated sill protectors for the front doors and Juke-branded velour floor mats. The Juke Shiro is available in any of the colours offered on standard Juke models, but it does have one additional unique colour in its palette: Nightshade, a deep aubergine colour.

The Shiro builds on the top-of-the-range Tekna model with prices starting from £17,695. It is available in three engine choices – a 110PS 1.5-litre dCi; 117PS normally aspirated 1.6-litre petrol; and the range-topping turbocharged direct injection petrol 1.6-litre DIG-T with 190PS. A 4×4 version and CVT automatics are also available.

Deliveries are due to commence from 1 March 2012 and like all Nissan Jukes, the Shiro will be produced at Nissan’s manufacturing plant in Sunderland.

New biturbo V6 TDI engine

Audi has just announced that a new biturbo V6 TDI engine will enter production, to power executive class Audi models to 62mph in a fraction over five seconds and returns up to 44.1mpg. The new advanced new biturbo TDI engine heads the diesel line-up in the A6 Saloon, Avant, allroad quattro and A7 Sportback ranges, with OTR prices starting from £43,810.

It is available now in the A6 Saloon and Avant and A7 Sportback (and later in 2012 in A6 allroad), with first deliveries in the spring. The 313ps A6 Saloon 3.0 BiTDI quattro reaches 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds, has a top speed of 155mph, combined MPG of 44.1 and CO2 emissions of 169g/km.

Power is transmitted from the BiTDI engine via an eight-speed tiptronic transmission to the latest generation quattro all-wheel-drive system, which features a self-locking centre differential and torque vectoring for optimum traction control and stability. The car also comes with a sound actuator in the exhaust system that generates a “petrol engined” sports car exhaust note, to match the remarkable performance.

The new BiTDI engine is available in conjunction with SE and S line specification in the A6 Saloon, A6 Avant and A7 Sportback. Highlights that are common to all these models include satellite navigation linked to a 6.5-inch retractable colour monitor, Milano leather upholstery, the Audi drive select adaptive dynamics system controlling throttle response, transmission shift points and steering feel, the Audi parking system plus, light and rain sensors, cruise control and keyless go push-button engine ignition.

BMW ActiveHybrid 5 Saloon

BMW is taking the development of intelligent hybrid drive systems to the next level with the introduction of their new BMW ActiveHybrid 5. This model combines a combustion engine and an electric motor to enhance both efficiency and the brand’s hallmark driving pleasure.

The BMW ActiveHybrid 5 comes with a BMW TwinPower Turbo six-cylinder in-line engine, plus an electric drive system, with an eight-speed automatic gearbox for the first time. This combined package offers an exceptional balance of performance and fuel economy for the premium executive car class.

The combined drive system generates a combined output of 340 hp and the car can be driven on electric power alone with speeds up to 37 mph. The  BMW ActiveHybrid 5 sprints from 0 to 62 mph in 5.9 seconds, yet still offers CO₂ emissions of just 149 – 163 g/km (depending on the model and tyres).

The BMW ActiveHybrid 5 has the sporty, yet elegant body design of the BMW 5 Series Saloon and comes with bespoke touches which highlight the identity of its innovative drive technology. The “ActiveHybrid 5” lettering on the C-pillars, the BMW kidney grille with galvanised slats and the exhaust matt chrome tailpipes set the exterior apart from the other models in the range.

The comfort of driving this car is enhanced by addition – on this model – of stationary climate control which can be activated before your journey begins. The interior climate remains constant even during breaks in the journey and when the car is in coasting mode (with the combustion engine switched off).

BMW ActiveHybrid 5 technical details

Displacement: 2,979 cc, output: 225 kW/306 hp at 5,800 rpm, 
max. torque: 400 Nm (295 lb-ft) at 1,200 – 5,000 rpm.
Synchronous electric motor; output: 40 kW/55 hp, 
max. torque: 210 Nm (155 lb-ft);
Combined output: 250 kW/340 hp, 
max. combined torque: 450 Nm (332 lb-ft).
Acceleration [0 – 100 km/h (62 mph)]: 5.9 seconds,
top speed: 250 km/h (155 mph), 
top speed purely on electric power: 60 km/h (37 mph). 
Average fuel consumption*: 6.4 – 7.0 litres/100 kilometres 
(40 – 44 mpg imp), 
CO₂ emissions*: 149 – 163 g/km, 
exhaust standard: EU5. 

*As per the EU test cycle, figures may vary according to the tyre format specified