2012 Scenic

The new Renault Scenic 2012 will be ready to order from the 23rd January, with prices starting from £18,325 on-the-road (Scenic) and £19,725 (Grand Scenic).  The car gets a revised look for 2012, including a more contemporary front styling on both Scenic and Grand Scenic, plus gloss black and chrome detailing, standard LED daytime running lights and new rear lights as well. The new 2012 Scenic range also sees two new body colours added, Azzurro Blue and Damask Red.

To keep things nice and simple, the new Renault Scenic and Grand Scenic 2012 is launched with just only trim level – Dynamique TomTom.

Grand Scenic

Some of the new standard vehicle options added for 2012 include rear parking sensors and LED daytime running lights, 16” alloy wheels, auto lights and wipers, Bluetooth™, cruise control, Carminat TomTom Live satellite navigation. There will also be the option of adding Renault’s Visio System (lane departure warning and automatic high/low beam headlight function), plus Hill Start Assist, if you require.

Two new fuel efficient engines debut in Scenic in the  2012 range, the 1.2 TCe 115 petrol and 1.5 dCi 110 Stop & Start, both offering impressive performance, economy and emission figures. The diesel for example offers a class-leading 68.9 mpg (combined cycle) and emits only 105 g/km CO₂

If you are interested in some of the options available, there is a new Luxe Pack on all versions of the Dynamique TomTom (except the 1.6 VVT 110). The Luxe Pack offers some impressive extra equipment which is worth much more than its £1,500 price tag.  This includes 17” ‘Sari’ alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, BOSE Energy Efficient sound system with nine speakers, digital amplifier, sliding centre console, electrically folding door mirrors and the Visio System.

New Twingo

The New Twingo city car has just gone on sale in UK, with the Dynamique 1.2 16V 75, priced from just £10,350 on-the-road. The New Twingo has improved styling at the front (with new Renault design DNA identity), plus a revised bumper, tailgate and new rear lights. Yet it is the ‘eyelids’ of the headlights that really contribute to new Twingo’s distinctive looks.

There are also a wide range of cost options on offer, including climate control, electric panoramic sunroof (fabric version available from April), two Option Packs and long list of accessories, for you to really personalise your new car. It is available with new colours called Fuchsia and Bermuda Blue, which are added to the seven existing body colours, plus there are eight different alloy wheel options.

In the UK, the New Twingo will be powered by the 1.2 16V 75 engine, boasting 55.4 mpg in the combined cycle with CO₂ emissions of 119g/km, resulting in nil road fund licence for the first year (and £30 from year two), if you are buying/owning the car. Don’t forget with contract hire, the road fund licence is included in the rental you pay each month. 

The new audio system is improved with Bluetooth functionality, together with audio streaming with USB connectivity as standard (from March). This makes it really easy for you to play digital music and the audio system can also be used as a docking station for the latest-generation iPhone and iPod Touch®.

Inside the car it has separate, independently sliding, 50/50-split rear seats, with the boot capacity extending from 230 to 959 dm³. In addition, there are numerous storage spaces, making this city car ideal for town driving.

Renault is also planning to have a new microsite to demonstrate the customisation programme and this will be available via www.renault.co.uk from February and will be divided into four sections: stickers, door mirror housings, spoilers, alloy wheels. Details for New Twingo Renaultsport 133 will be released closer to launch, in April 2012

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.

Nicola Roberts in her Twingo

Renault has enlisted the creative talents of four European artists, including Nicola Roberts from Girls Aloud, to create a series of bespoke city cars to celebrate the launch of their new Renault Twingo. The new Twingo gains a softer, front end, plus the new Renault visual brand identify and looks set to be as popular as the original Twingo

Renault offered four ‘artists’ of varying nationality and cultural discipline – fashion, music, design and cooking – the opportunity to express their own vision of a ‘Cabinet of Curiosity’ by creating their own bespoke Twingo interior. The results of the style project reflect their view of the world.

The line up features:

• Twingo Goes Pop by Nicola Roberts – UK singer
• Twingo 55 FBG by Jean-Charles de Castelbajac – Franch fashion designer
• Twingo Reading Room by Nils Holger Moormann – German designer
• Scabin Pasta Twingo by Davide Scabin – Italian chef

Kangoo Van Z.E.

Renault has just announced the list of their specialist UK electric vehicle dealers to sell and service their four-model electric vehicle line-up. Twenty one sites have been branded Z.E. Expert and are now live. All the specialist Renault dealer sites have a Kangoo Van Z.E. demonstrator on site for full test drives and also three new Chargemaster E.V. charging points.

The E.V. charging points are located in the workshop, the demonstrator area and car park and there is also a dummy domestic charging point to show customers how to charge the vehicle.

The full list of Z.E. Renault dealers is:

Renault Manchester
Renault Birmingham
Renault Liverpool
Renault Leicester
Renault Cardiff
Renault London West
Renault Enfield
Renault Croydon
Ness Inverness
The Co-operative Bradford
Seward Portsmouth
Donnelly and Taggart, Londonderry
Charles Hurst Belfast
Vospers Plymouth
Motorline Maidstone
Benfield Newcastle
Bristol Street Exeter
Westover Poole
MarshallMilton Keynes
Smiths Peterborough
Toomey Basildon

Euro NCAP crash test

Although Geely will not enter the UK market until the end of 2012, the Chinese manufactured Geely Emgrand EC7 has just undergone its Euro NCAP safety testing and has been awarded four stars. The other car models picking up four stars at the same time, were the Jaguar XF, Renault Fluence ZE, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Fiat Panda and MG6 so the Emgrand EC7 is in good company.

When the Emgrand EC7 arrives in the UK it will come with the choice of two body styles, four door saloons and five-door hatchbacks, with a choice of 1.5- or 1.8-litre petrol engines, with an automatic version for the 1.8-litre versions. The car will be priced competitively from around £10,000 and all models will come with  a five-year, 100,000 miles warranty.

Geely Auto UK is in the process of  recruiting its dealer network in readiness for sales to begin by the end of next year and the Euro NCAP results are a major step forward for the brand.

Michiel van Ratingen, Euro NCAP’s Secretary General said,”These results mark a milestone for the Chinese automotive industry. It is a clear sign that Chinese car makers are building on recent experiences and rapidly investing in better vehicle safety. Even with the upcoming increased demands, five stars are expected to be within reach soon”.

Contract hire offer on a Kangoo Van

If you are a small business and in need of a new van then we have a two-year contract hire special offer on the site for the Renault Kangoo ML19dCi 70bhp Freeway diesel van from only £146.14+VAT per month, or around £37+VAT per week. This contract hire offer is based over two years, non-maintained, six rentals in advance and at 10,000 miles per annum. Other contract hire terms are available from our finance partner.

The Renault Kangoo ML19dCi 70bhp Freeway diesel van emits just 140g/km of CO2 and returns 53.3 combined mpg so is economical and would suit the needs of a small business (or even larger fleet user) that is looking for a commercial vehicle that’s reliable too.

Renault Kangoo Z.E.

The Renault Kangoo Z.E. has just been voted International Van of the Year 2012 by a jury of 22 European journalists who specialise in reviewing light commercial vehicles. The Kangoo Z.E is a 100%-electric van and this is the first time an electric commercial vehicle has won this award.

The Kangoo Z.E saw off competition from some other well known brands including the Iveco Daily, Fiat Ducato and Volkswagen Caddy and was chosen for its zero-emission virtues as well as for its practicality and economical qualities. The Kangoo Z.E has a load volume ranging from 3 cubic metres to 4.6  cubic metres and also keeps the same payload as the standard Kangoo, at 650kg.

The Kangoo Z.E comes in two lengths and three versions and will be arriving in UK dealerships in the 1st December, priced from £16,990 excluding VAT. Contract hire prices on the Kangoo Z.E will be on the site shortly.

Click for the Contact Form

If you are thinking of getting a new van on contract hire but don’t want to commit to a long-term agreement then how about the RENAULT KANGOO DIESEL ML19dCi 70 Freeway Van [SLD] which is on the site on non-maintained contract hire from only £146.14+VAT per month. Terms are based on a 24 month contract, 10,000 miles per annum, 6 initial rentals followed by 23 subsequent rentals.

The RENAULT KANGOO DIESEL ML19dCi 70 Freeway Van [SLD] returns 53.3 combined mpg and emits 140g/km so its pretty economical and a great van for city deliveries, or even driving up the motorway. Other terms are available from our contract hire partner so fill out a Contact Form today.

Renault Scenic

This question is often asked and is quite easy to explain if you know how a contract hire rental is made up. There are many factors that our leasing company partners consider when setting their contract hire rentals.

The number one factor is the residual value (re-sale value) they set for each vehicle. After that the other items considered is the amount they buy the car for, including volume bonuses (and this will vary), their monthly overhead in the rental, profit and interest, vehicle recovery (RAC cover) and maintenance cover, if you opt for full maintenance contract hire.

So don’t always assume that if a car costs more to buy that it may cost more to contract hire.

A great example of this are the following two MPVs, which we have shown contract hire rentals for on 3 years, non-maintained, 3+35 rentals and 10,000 miles annum i.e. like-for-like quotes.

The Renault Scenic has a manufacturer list price of £17,450 and The Citroen C3 Picasso a list price of £13,565 – a list price difference of £3,885.

Yet, the contract hire rental is the same for both cars at £209.00+VAT per month.

If you want to find out what other cars may cost less on contract hire , even though they may have higher prices to buy, try the Vehicle Type contract hire shopper, choose the type of car (i.e. MPVs), your monthly budget and then see what you can get for your money.