Alfa Romeo "Test Me" campaign

Alfa Romeo’s latest television commercial, entitled ‘Test Me’, will be launched this month in a year-long marketing campaign focused on highlighting the reasons why people should buy or lease an Alfa Romeo car. Alfa Romeo recorded impressive UK sales figures in 2011 and wants to  build on this success with the new advertising campaign.

The marketing initiative  compares the MiTo and Giulietta against their closest competitors to emphasise why you could choose an Alfa Romeo instead of a BMW for example. There is also a dedicated website where you can find further information on the campaign at www.alfaromeo.co.uk/testme. 

Some of the comparisons where Alfa Romeo is offering head-to-head examples against BMW and Volkswagen are as follows:

• The Alfa Giulietta 1.4 TB MultiAir 170 bhp ALFA TCT (semi-automatic transmission) is currently the best-in-class for CO₂ emissions at just 121 g/km against the Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI 160 DSG at 139 g/km for example.
• The Alfa MiTo 1.3 JTDM-2 85 bhp Sprint possesses fuel efficiency of up to 80.7 mpg on a combined cycle. The Mini One D achieves 74.3 mpg as a direct comparison model.
• The Alfa Giulietta, with a class leading Euro NCAP crash safety score of 106, is higher than the new  BMW 1 Series score of 103.
• All MiTo and Giulietta models offer 3 years complimentary servicing. This is available at an additional cost on VW Polo and Golf models.

Damien Dally, Head of Brand for Alfa Romeo UK comments: “Customers appreciate the stylish lines and sleek design of an Alfa Romeo, but due to preconceived misconceptions, some turn to our competitors, wrongly believing they offer a better proposition”.

He went on to say, “With the new ‘Test Me’ campaign, we can prove that Alfa Romeo offers customers significantly more than the likes of our key German competitors, together with Alfa’s passion, heritage and design flair inherent in every model.  We also boast class-leading economic credentials such as fuel efficiency and environmental considerations. Our customers are able to drive away in something extra special which possesses the perfect combination of style and substance”.

If you want to compare contract hire prices for Alfa Romeo, against the likes of Audi, BMW or Volkswagen, try our Vehicle Type Shopper and select those manufacturers. This quote engine will then display the monthly lease prices and you can see which models offer the best value for money, as well as CO2 and combined mpg.

City Emergency Braking on the up!

The Volkswagen up! is not even on UK roads yet, but it has just been awarded the title of What Car? Car of the Year 2012, as well as Best City Car, at the What Car? Awards.

Volkswagen had a successful night at the motor industry’s annual ‘Oscars’, which was held at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The Golf was voted the top Small Family Car category for the sixth time overall and fourth consecutive year, and Volkswagen also won the coveted Safety Award.

Commenting on the awards, What Car? editor-in-chief Chas Hallett said: ‘The Volkswagen up! sets new standards for a car at £10,000.  It’s a city car that can seat four adults, while offering new levels of refinement, quality and maturity at this price; none of its rivals feels quite so grown-up.  Buyers will be looking for even more for their money than ever in 2012, so the up! is a worthy winner of the What Car? Car of the Year.’

Meanwhile the Safety Award was in large part the result of the availability of Volkswagen’s new City Emergency Braking system on the up!.  The What Car? judges were impressed by this particular example of ‘big car’ technology filtering down to a smaller model and the system uses sensors to scan the space ahead. It then applies the brakes automatically if it detects that the car is about to hit an object in front. 

Director of Volkswagen UK, Chris Craft, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted with the awards we have received from What Car? this year.  The magazine continues to be one of the most thorough and important sources of new car buying information for UK customers and winning the overall Car of the Year accolade gives our new city car, the up!, the best introduction to the UK market that we could have hoped for”.

First models should arrive in UK showrooms in March and Volkswagen contract hire on the up! range is on the site now.

The full list of category winners at the What Car? Awards 2012 is below.

Contract hire offer

The Volkswagen Golf recorded great sales in 2011 and is known as one of the UK’s most favourite diesel cars. We have a contract hire offer on the site for a Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDi S 3-door diesel hatchback from only £210.27+VAT per month on a two year deal. Terms are based on a non-maintenance business contract hire agreement, 24 months term, 10,000 miles per annum and six rentals in advance. Other terms are available on request.

The Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDi S 3-door diesel hatchback provides a combined mpg of 62.8 and emits only 118g/km of CO2 making it an ideal family hatchback, as well as a tax efficient company car for any business fleet. More details can be obtained from our car finance partner by filling out a Contact Form.

Ford Fiesta

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just announced the December 2011 and 2011 full year new car registration figures, with the market down 4.4% at 1.94 million units sold. This was ahead of the 1.92 million forecast number however.

The December numbers fell by 3.7% year-on-year, at 119,188 units, and diesel and alternatively fuelled cars took record market shares over the year, as motorists look for best fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions.

The average new car CO2 emissions figure fell to a new low of 138.1g/km, which is down 4.2% on the 2010 number of 144.2g/km of CO2 and 23.7% below the 2000 figure of 181.0g/km.

Other highlights;

• Fleet sales maintained the new car registrations levels with a 4.7% growth year on year, from 973,233 in 2010 to 1,019,126 in 2011.
• Private registrations fell by 14.1% for the year from 958,005 to 823,094.
• Business (sub-25 fleet) registrations were flat (99,608 in 2010 to 99,033 in 2011).
• Diesel volumes outsold petrol cars for the first time.
• The Ford Fiesta was the best selling car in 2011, with the Volkswagen Golf the best selling diesel model.

Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive, commented,”2011 proved to be a challenging year for the UK motor industry. Total new car registrations were slightly ahead of industry expectations at 1.94 million units, still down 4.4% on 2010. Weak economic growth will make trading conditions tough in 2012, but record numbers of new and updated models, significantly improved fuel efficiency and exciting new technologies will help to encourage consumers into showrooms. Business and consumer confidence will be the key to a successful year, so it will be important that government delivers on its growth strategy and helps to resolve instability in the Euro Zone”.

If you are looking to contract hire a new car in 2012 and want to find the best model for your money, with the lowest CO2 emissions and best fuel economy then do try our Vehicle Type Shopper. You can select how much you want to spend, your CO2 ranges and the best fuel efficient cars too.

Volkswagen up!

The new Volkswagen up! city car and the new Volkswagen Beetle have both been awarded five-star Euro NCAP ratings. The up! features Volkswagen’s innovative City Emergency Braking function which scans the road ahead at speeds less than 18mph and if it detects an impending collision, brakes the car if necessary (i.e. you haven’t braked).

Both vehicles also attained top results in occupant protection in all seat positions and also excellent child protection results for 18 month and three-year old children.

New Beetle

Both cars have an impressive level of safety equipment with vehicle dynamic control (ESP) and seatbelt reminders both praised. The full results for both cars can be viewed at the Euro NCAP website and the up! and the new Beetle now join the Golf, Golf Cabriolet, Jetta, Passat, Polo, Scirocco, Sharan and Tiguan in achieving top safety marks. Volkswagen contract hire is on the site now for the whole range.

Contract hire your new Golf

The economical Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI 105bhp  BlueMotion five-door diesel hatchback is on the site now with contract hire prices  from only £217.12+VAT. This superb Volkswagen car offers CO2 emissions of just 99g/km and returns a remarkable 74.3 combined mpg, providing low running costs for any small business. It’s also an ideal family hatchback as well.

The terms of the business contract hire offer are a 4-year deal, non-maintained contract hire, 10,000 miles per annum and a payment profile of 6+47 rentals. Other terms are available from our car finance partner so fill out one of our Contact Forms today.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released the October new car registrations data and the new car market seems to have stabilised. The total UK car sales in October were 134,944 units (up 2.6%) and this is the second increase in three months. The market is still on track to achieve the full year prediction of 1.923 million units, however the SMMT remains cautious about sales in 2012.

Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive, said,”October’s new car market rose 2.6% on last year -a positive result despite the uncertain economic climate. We expect market conditions to remain challenging and hope the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement later this month will help to boost economic growth and consumer confidence”.

Headlines from the October data

• Registrations in October were helped by a sharp recovery in the small car markets, with the Supermini segment up 17.4% and the Mini segment up 4.7%
• The Ford Fiesta was the best selling model on October and year to date
• The Volkswagen Golf was the best selling diesel model in October
• The Fleet market (25 vehicles and above) grew by 7.9% to 73,712 car units registered
• Business regsitrations (sub 25 fleets) was also up by 9.7% to 6,189 units
• Private sector (consumers) fell by 4.3% to 55,043 units

Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion

The Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion has just added another green award to its bulging trophy cabinet having been named as Green Vehicle of the Year at the 2011 AFCO Fleet Awards last week. ACFO (Association of Car Fleet Operators) is the UK’s largest body representing UK businesses which run fleets of cars or commercial vehicles.

The Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion offers a combined fuel economy of 74.3mpg and emits just 99g/km of CO2 and this award comes shortly after What Car? named the BlueMotion “small green family car” and Auto Express gave the car its Green Award honour.

The Volkswagen Passat and Golf models were also shortlisted for the ACFO Fleet Car of Year award and the Volkswagen Caddy was nominated in the Small Van of the Year category. Volkswagen contract hire is on the site now for all models.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has just released the new car registrations data for September 2011 which saw 332,476 new cars registered, down 0.8% on last year. The main growth in the new car sector came from “Fleet” registrations (companies who have a fleet of vehicles greater than 25 vehicles) which grew by 7.3%, while private registrations were down by 9.3%. 

Business (sub-25 fleets) also reported a 13.4% growth year-on-year from 18,266 units in 2010, to 20,707 in 2011. The SMMT expects the full new year car market to end 5.3% lower than 2010, at around 1.92 million units. Average new car CO2 emissions also fell by 4.0% to 138.5g/km and the top car models sold in September were as follows;

1. Fiesta – 15,647
2. Focus – 14,754
3. Corsa – 14,339
4. Golf – 10,628
5. Astra – 10,462
6. Polo – 8,607
7. Insignia – 7,323
8. MINI – 6,903
9. 3 Series – 6,352
10. Qashqai – 6,068

New Citroen DS4

The new Citroen DS4 has already been voted “Most Beautiful Car of the Year” by more than 60,000 web users in 62 countries and it is now officially going on sale on the 4th July. There are three trim levels available - DSign, DStyle and DSport with a range of five Euro 5 compliant engines.

This is second model in the DS line (after the DS3) and Citroen is targeting the sector between coupes, hatchbacks and crossovers. Cars such as the Volkswagen Scirocco, Renault Megane Coupe, Volkswagen Golf and Honda Civic Hatch, Alfa Romeo Giulietta, BMW 1 Series, Audi A3 Sportback and crossovers such as the Nissan Qashqai and MINI Countryman are in the DS4′s sights.

Rear-view Citroen DS4

The car looks like a sleek coupe but it has 5-door flexibility and a raised stance. Eye-catching lines are enhanced by a chrome finished waistline, dark tinted windows, rear spoiler and stylish 19-inch alloys in scupltured wheel arches. Three full-size rear seats are on offer and the boot has a large 359 litre capacity, which increases to 385 litres using the under floor storage.

The cabin oozes comfort in a premium environment with high-quality cabin materials, drilled aluminium pedals, embossed door handles and a choice of five leather combinations. There is also a large panoramic windscreen offering enhanced occupant visibility and a bright and welcoming environment. The colour of the instrument dials and cluster can also be changed to further refine the driving experience.

Engine options are two diesels- HDi 110 and HDi 160 and three BMW co-developed petrol engines- VTi 120, THP 155 and a new THP 200. The THP 200 offers a top speed of 146 mph (where permitted), a 0-62mph time of 8.5 seconds, CO2 emissions of 149g/km and a combined mpg of 44.1. The HDi 110 is also available in an e-HDi option which uses Stop & Start (plus micro-hybrid techology) to boost fuel economy by 15% in city driving conditions, with CO2 emissions at just 110g/km.

The Ds4 has lots of safety features including ESP with Intelligent Traction Control, ABS with EBD and EBA, six airbags and two Isofix mountings on the rear seats. Other safety offerings include Citroen’s new blind-spot monitoring system, programmable cruise control and a speed limiter. Citroen business car leasing is on the site now on all models.