MINI Highgate

After the MINI Baker Street and MINI Bayswater exclusive editions a new model in the trio has just been launched called the MINI Highgate. MINI is continuing the brand’s  policy of taking the names of fashionable areas of London, with Highgate a sophisticated new version of their drop-top Convertible.

This new four-seater convertible offers a raft of unique exterior and interior features and is finished in an all-new metallic ‘Iced Chocolate’ body colour, which works perfectly with the tailored ‘Silvertouched Truffle’ fabric roof. The unique look is enhanced by truffle bonnet stripes with blue edging.

MINI Highgate

Midnight Black metallic or White Silver metallic paintwork can be specified as an option and the door mirror caps are always finished in the same shade as the exterior. The MINI Highgate comes with bespoke 17-inch ‘Double Cross Turned’ light-alloy wheels in a subtle aluminium colour, taking its design inspiration from the Union Jack flag.

Inside the car there are ‘Dark Truffle’ Lounge Leather seats that feature blue piping and contrasting stitching. MINI’s popular Chili Pack; filled with added extras like automatic air conditioning, Bluetooth and USB connectivity, multi-function steering wheel, multi-coloured interior lights, is also standard on the Highgate special edition.

Inside the Highgate

You also get sun-touched Brushed Alloy detailing on the dashboard and the Chrome Line Interior and Exterior packages are also included. Finally for that final touch, exclusive ‘Highgate’ lettering  is detailed on the side indicator surrounds, door sills and seat tags, marking the car out from the crowd.

The MINI Highgate comes in four engine options; the MINI Cooper (90 kW/122 hp), MINI Cooper S (135 kW/184 hp), MINI Cooper D (82 kW/112 hp) and MINI Cooper SD (105 kW/143 hp). All are linked to a six-speed manual gearbox as standard, with a six-speed automatic available as an option and the OTR prices are below. MINI contract hire prices on the new model will be loaded shortly.

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.

BMW 1 Series

The new BMW 1-series has just been voted the “2012 Business Car of the Year”, after the readers of BusinessCar magazine and www.businesscar.co.uk chose it as the best product that meets the needs of a company and their drivers alike. 

BMW had a successful awards ceremony, with the German brand also collecting the Manufacturer of the Year prize, plus the Green Model of the Year for the ultra-efficient 320d ED model. There there were also sector wins for the BMW 3-series, BMW 7-series and BMW X5, as well as the BMW-owned Mini hatchback.

“BMW’s impressive and class-leading combination of desirability, efficiency and driving pleasure has again shown itself with this haul of awards, decided by the readers of BusinessCar, proving that the brand is at the forefront of the company car market,” said BusinessCar Editor Paul Barker. “Across the range there is a model for every level of employee, each one offering low tax bills, good running costs and the premium BMW badge. The people running these vehicles and giving them to their staff obviously appreciate the job BMW is doing.”

The BusinessCar Awards are awarded with votes entirely by the readers of the publication and their website, so therefore the BMW range was recognised by the very people that are likely to use the cars on a daily basis. We have the full range of BMW 1 Series models on BMW contract hire on the site now.

For the full list of winners see http://www.businesscar.co.uk/awards

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 MINI London 2012 Edition

A new MINI London 2012 Edition has now gone on sale with first deliveries expected in the UK by March 2012. This new edition model is inspired by the Olympics, which BMW is sponsoring, and only 2,012 of the special edition MINI  models are going to be made.

The new car is available in Cooper, Cooper S, Cooper D and Cooper SD trims and all come in the Union Jack themed colours of Chilli Red, White Silver or Lightning Blue. All the models will also have white mirror caps and a white roof that features the London 2012 Olympic graphic.

Outside the car features a Union Jack single sport stripe over the bonnet, roof and tailgate, side scuttles with the Olympic graphic and unique grey 17-inch conical spoke alloy wheels, which are only available on this special edition MINI.

Inside the car you get red and blue stitching twined with white piping on the front and rear Black “Lounge Leather” upholstery, Union Jack piping and London 2012 logo on the inner edge of the front seats, with coloured stitching on the hand brake, gear stick gaiter and floor mats.

The MINI London 2012 Edition is packed full of extra options with Lounge Leather sports seats, DAB radio, air conditioning, cruise control, and chrome interior touches. Opt for the diesel model and you also get exemption from the London Congestion Charge, as it emits only 99g/km of CO2.

MINI

Following the recent announcement by Nissan regarding investment in the UK to build the new Qashqai, the BMW Group has also confirmed that a further £500m additional investment will be made in their UK production network, to build its next generation MINI models. The BMW Groups’ investment in the UK is now over £1.5 billion since 2000 and follows the company’s strategy of investing in the production cars in markets where they sell the most vehicles.

The UK is the Group’s fourth-largest single market in the world for car sales, after Germany, the US and China and in 2010, the BMW Group, which consists of BMW, MINI and Rolls Royce, sold 154,750 cars. BMW has been producing the MINI at their Oxford plant since 2001 and Jurgen Hedrich, head of Plant Oxford, said,”Oxford has been the heart of MINI for the past 10 years and we are proud of what has been achieved here. Naturally we are delighted to confirm that the next generation MINI will be built here too and look forward to the continued worldwide success of these great cars”.

The MINI range offers great value and we have currently have a great MINI business contract hire offer on the site for the MINI One 1.6 D diesel 3-door hatchback which starts from only £165.90+VAT on a 4-year contract, 10,000 miles per annum, non-maintained, on a 3 initial rental followed by 47 subsequent rentals. Other terms are available from BMW Corporate Finance. This model offers you a combined mpg of  74.3 and CO2 emissions of just 99g/km.

CLICK for the full terms of the deal

The MINI Cooper 1.6 D diesel convertible gives you the fun of open-top motoring yet offers great fuel economy with a combined mpg of only 70.6 and CO2 emissions at just 105g/km. MINI business car leasing on this great car starts from only £198.43+VAT per month, with free metallic paint on offer as well.

The MINI business car leasing terms are based on a 4-year contract, payment terms of 3 initial rentals followd by 47 subsequent payments, 10,000 miles per annum on non-maintained leasing. Other terms are available on request from the finance partner, BMW Corporate Finance.

Audi A1

If you have decided on the model of car you want to order on contract hire leasing, then you do need to consider the vehicle stock lead times and availability of your model, especially if you also want to personalise it with any accessories and choose the colour.

For example, if you are thinking of leasing an Audi A1, the wait for your vehicle delivery may be long, as lead times are as high as 28 weeks. So order early to avoid disappointment and possibly a long wait for your new vehicle. If you do order early, you may find that the manufacturer will “price protect” the vehicle, from future manufacturer list price increases, (depending on the length of the factory order build time), however do check this with your chosen leasing company.

Here is the latest general update on car vehicle stock availability – data kindly supplied by Inchcape;

The above data is only a guide and you may well find a vehicle in stock at a local dealer.

Personal car leasing with maintenance

Personal Car Leasing (Personal Contract Hire) is an easy and simple way to source a new car as rental prices are fixed (subject to VAT rates) for the contract duration, helping UK driver’s budget their annual motoring running costs. Fully maintained personal car leasing for most makes and models is back on the site, exclusively for consumers and company car scheme opt-out drivers.

Pricing for fully-maintained personal car leasing (personal contract hire) on most cars will now be available through the site on two, three or four year contracts, all inclusive of vehicle maintenance, covering 10,000 or 20,000 miles per annum, with only three rentals in advance. Other mileages and payment terms are also available on request.

Whether you are searching for personal car leasing prices with or without maintenance, the rental price on Comparecontracthire.com will always be the same, so make use of the great prices we can now offer you for fully maintained contracts.

Full maintenance personal car leasing covers all routine servicing, mechanical repair, tyres, batteries and exhausts and don’t forget the road fund licence (vehicle excise duty)  is also paid for as well, as part of the contract. All personal car leasing prices for consumers or “company car opt out drivers” are quoted with and without VAT, however the rental you will pay has to include the VAT.

Here are a few personal car leasing offers with maintenance currently available;

• Nissan Micra 1.2 Visia 5-door hatchback with air conditioning from £168.42 including VAT -2 year deal
• Ford Fiesta 1.2 Edge 3-door hatchback from £201.78 including VAT – 3 year deal
• Ford Fiesta 1.4 Edge 3-door TCDi (70) diesel hatchback from £222.94 including VAT – 3 year deal
• MINI First 1.6-litre 3-door hatchback from £218.68 including VAT – 3 year deal
• Vauxhall Corsa 1.0-litre ecoFLEX 3-door with air conditioning from £225.59 incl VAT – 3 year deal

There are thousands of cars on offer so try the Personal car leasing shopper to find a car for you.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has released the data on new car registrations for February 2011. The numbers fell less than expected due to strong demand from fleet customers, however overall the market dropped 7.7% to 63,424 units. Registrations over the first two months of 2011 were down by 10.2% to 192,235 units.

Fleet volumes recovered in February by 8.6% but private registrations continued to decline to 22,584, a fall of 26.7%. Demand for the mini and supermini segment cars also continued to fall, but registrations of executive, luxury saloon, sports cars and MPVs showed a double digit growth in the month. Diesel market share was 50% in the month, rising by 8.9% and the Volkswagen Golf was the best seller, followed by the Vauxhall Corsa (2nd) and Ford Focus (3rd).