Kia cee'd

The Kia cee’d scored 83.8 per cent in the recent J.D Power and Associates/What Car? Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study (VOSS) to achieve a stunning 4th overall position. The c’eed finished just behind luxury cars like the Lexus and Jaguar. The cee’d also topped the “Lower Medium Car” segment ahead of vehicles such as the BMW 1 Series and the Skoda Octavia.

The Kia cee’d was the first Kia model to benefit from Kia’s major quality offensive and the Soul Urban crossover, Venga B-segment MPV and Sorento SUV have also been part of the quality excellence programme. Steve Fowler,Group Editor of What Car? said,”This is a superb result for Kia. The cee’d's fourth place is seriously impressive given the strength of the opposition, while securing top spot in the lower medium car category (ahead of some traditional J.D.Power high flyers) is a clear indication of how the newer Kia products are providing just what customers want”. Kia contract hire prices are available now.

Toyota Prius

Toyota has announced today that they are recalling the latest, third-generation Prius built before 27th January 2010, which will involve about 8,500 cars in the UK. To date no accidents have been linked to this braking issue and no other Toyota or Lexus models are affected.

The recall is happening due to reports of inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady braking or slick road surfaces when the ABS anti-lock braking system is activated. The repair procedure will be undertaken at your local Toyota dealer and the software setting change should take no longer than 40 minutes. Toyota will be writing to all customers shortly.

Toyota maintains the cars are safe to drive however if you drive a third-generation Prius  and you are concerned then call the Toyota Customer Relations department on 0800 1388 744.

New Lexus LFA Supercar

Lexus has released the details about the new Lexus LFA, their new supercar for the 21st century. The car is powered by a 4.8-litre V10 engine with a 9,000 red line and offers a maximum power of 552bhp and torque of 480Nm.

The car will driven rear wheel drive using a  bespoke six-speed Automated Sequential Gearbox (ASG) and reaches 0-62mph in only 3.7 seconds and onto a top speed (where permitted) of 202mph.

This staggering new supercar will be limited to only 500 examples and prices are likely to be around £336,000. Probably bigger than the budget for most! However if you fancy leasing another Lexus car then of course pricing on all their other models is available now.

Outback - top SUV

Subaru has won an award for the top SUV with their all-new Outlook. This new model was named as Sport Utility of the Year by a leading American motoring magazine called Motor Trend. The US market is the largest for SUVs so this is a positive endorsement for the new car.

Eleven road testers were involved in the judging and the Subaru saw off other contenders like, the Lexus RX450h, Volvo XC60 and The Audi Q5. The Outback won by a vote of 10 to one.

New 2010 New Outback line-up

* Lineartronic gearbox fitted as standard

Subaru car leasing prices will be available shortly.

LF-Ch concept

Lexus will be announcing a new supercar, the LF-Ch concept (compact premium-hybrid) car, at the forthcoming Tokyo Motor Show which starts on the 24th October. This stylish new concept vehicle will combine a dynamic performance with very low emissions, in a compact five-door package.

Central to this will be the proven Lexus Hybrid Drive and further details on this new automotive luxury model will be released at the show.

Lexus RX 450h

The luxury Lexus RX 450h SUV achieved an average 54.75mpg on the FleetWorld/ALD MPG Marathon. That is pretty good going for a vehicle that weighs over two tonnes and is powered by a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine, as well as the Lexus Hybrid Drive powertrain.

The results were achieved by Lexus’s driving team of David Crouch and Richard Lacey and this excellent fuel performance coupled with a low CO2 emissions rating of only 148g/km make the Lexus an appealing car leasing package.

Lexus GS 450h

Lexus has announced some changes for their luxury full hybrid saloon, the Lexus GS 450h. The new model year is being freshened up with with styling changes, new colours, revisions to the Pre-Crash Safety system and a more sophisticated navigation and audio packages.

The Pre-Crash Safety system in the GS 450h has been revised with the front seats being fitted with inflator-operated active headrests. The inflator slides a piston into the headrest and protects the occupant’s head in case of an accident.

The new hard drive (HDD) navigation system with 40GB capacity gives Europe-wide coverage with traffic information data capture in each country. Their will be two audio systems (DAB ready) featured in the GS 450 range. A 10-speaker Lexus premium package and a 14-speaker Mark Levinson Premium Surround System. Both of these systems store music files from CD up to a 10GB capacity (about 2,000 music tracks).

Eleven exterior colours are available with the new additions, Vanilla Mist, Richmond Green and Atlantic Blue. The car wears a new front grille and the hybrid-blue lamp clusters have been modified to incorporate larger outer lenses.

Lexus IS F sports package

Lexus is updating its IS model range adding a limited slip differential to the high performance IS F, offering a new F-Sport trim package for the regular IS 250 and 220d models and is also introducing DAB-ready audio and new Hard Disk Drive (HDD) navigation systems.

The sports package, available on all petrol and diesel models and in all colours, offers an IS F-style front grille, rear spoiler and exclusive 18-inch alloys wheels on the outside. Inside the car the features include IS F-style seats, steering wheel and on the IS 250, an automatic gear lever. The trim, black-on-black colour scheme, in the cabin, is also complimented by a black headlining and grey stitching on the front seats and steering wheel.

New model years come out on most manaufacturers at some time, so if you are looking for a new Lexus car to lease just make sure you are comparing quotes on a like for like basis as older versions will have different rentals.

Inchcape, one of the UK’s largest automotive retailers, has provided Comparecontracthire.com with their latest car and van vehicle availability guide.

The two options you have is to take a stock vehicle (located at a dealer) or if you want a bespoke car or van to your own vehicle specification, then you will have to place a factory order. The guide below is just that, a guide, however it should provide you with an update on which models are hard to get hold of at the moment.

Once you have chosen your car or van, if you decide you want to contract hire the vehicle, the relevant contract hire partner on the site will advise you on your vehicle delivery options. 

Lexus Concept Car

Lexus will be unveiling and premium compact concept car on the 15th September and have released an official sketch. This new concept car will demonstrate their vehicle technical innovation plus a new ground-breaking design in the premium compact sector.