Car Leasing News

Very Good Trip

Renault  is offering 16 lucky candidates the opportunity to drive across Europe in either a Wind Coupe-Roadster or a Renault Megane Coupe-Cabriolet in a free competition called the “Very Good Trip”. This reality TV adventure follows two teams from eight European countries, including the UK, driving across Europe with a TV crew capturing everything.

The competition is being held between the 14th June to the 9th July 2010 and finishes in Paris with the winners being presented two cars at L’Atelier Renault, on the Champs Elysees, Paris plus one year’s free fuel and insurance. All the contestants will also be supplied with a digital camera, laptop and 3G key so they can update their progress on Facebook, Twitter, Renault TV, Flick’r and YouTube .

To take part each pair of entrants must upload a video of themeselves lasting no more than 60 seconds onto www.renault.co.uk/verygoodtrip to tell Renault why you should be chosen for this trip of a lifetime. The site opens on Wednesday the 7th April at 13.00 BST and closes on the 14th May at 23.00.

Used Car Expert, the leading used car magazine, has undertaken an analysis of the depreciation of small family hatchbacks (1.6-litre petrol or comparable engine) and has discovered some interesting results. They looked at the resale value of three year old values against their new price, with 30,000 miles on the clock.

They found that many new car buyers will have lost up to 50% of their money in this time. Depreciation is never on most people’s minds when they buy a new car and this is why business car leasing is becoming more popular with many small businesses, as the risk around depreciation is with the vehicle leasing company.

• New car prices are an approximate guide price of the price paid for a new car 3 years ago

JATO Dynamics, a leading vehicle information provider, has revealed how small cars are driving down CO2 emissions across Europe. Volume weighted average CO2 emissions across all models and segments fell by 7.9g/km last year, with the three lowest bands increasing market share.

In particular, car manufacturers producing vehicles in the 101-120g/km segment experienced a market share increase of 8.9%, moving from 16.7% to 25.6%. This market trend has been guided by the popularity of small cars in the various car scrappage schemes operated by many European countries.

The most improved brand for reducing CO2 emissions is Ferrari, reducing volume weighted CO2 emissions by 53.6g/km with Porsche coming in at second reducing by 27.5g/km (mainly due to the Cayenne Diesel).

However Fiat remains top of the lowest overall brand for CO2 topping the league with an average 127.8k/km. In second place is Toyota at 130.1g/km with Peugeot in third place at 133.6g/km.

Interestingly in the volume weighted average CO2 emissons league table, Audi is a new entrant at ninth, mainly due to the strong sales of the Audi A3 and reducing CO2 emissions across the range particularly on the high volume A4 2.0-litre TDI. The full league table is below and if you are looking for a low CO2 car try the Super Shopper where you can select by manufacturers and CO2 ranges.

New Megane Coupe-Cabriolet

Renault is launching a new Renault Megane Coupe-Cabriolet which combines the elegance of a coupe with the thrills of open-top motoring. The car will be officially launched at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show and will also be displayed at L’Atelier Renault on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.

Megane hard glass roof

The car has  a standard folding glass hard roof (the largest in its segment) to always ensure a brightly lit cabin and to provide a sensation of space. However the fully-automatic, electro-hydraulic, opening mechanism of this two-part roof allows the driver to lower the top in just 21 seconds. There is also a fixed glass wind deflector to ensure all four passengers can enjoy driving with the roof down. The litre boot capacity is 417 litres with the roof up and 211 litres with the roof down.

With lots of standard options the car is also available in six engine derivatives (three petrol and three diesel).

Petrol options

• 1.6-litre 16V 110hp petrol linked to a six-speed manual gearbox.
• The TCe 130 (Turbo Control efficiency) with a six speed manual.
• The 2.0-litre 16V 140hp also available with the new continuously variable (CVT) transmission.

Diesel options

• The dCI 110 DPF linked to six speed manual or brand new EDC (Efficient Dual Clutch) automatic.
• The dCI 130 DPF linked to the six-speed manual.
• The dCI 160 DPF also with a six speed manual.

There are numerous safety features in this new Megane Coupe-Cabriolet, including ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution, emergency brake assist, ESP, tyre pressure monitoring system, front seatbelt warning lights and numerous airbags. Full vehicle specifications and prices will be released later to the car sale date.

Autotrader.co.uk, the site to sell new and used cars, vans, caravans, motorhomes and motorbikes, has named their top ten Superminis as follows.

1. Ford Fiesta
2. Volkswagen Polo
3. Mini Cooper
4. Mazda2
5. Fiat 500
6. Toyota iQ
7. Vauxhall Corsa
8. Suzuki Swift
9. Nissan Micra
10. Renault Clio

Before you buy your next car it might be worth considering car leasing however, rather than face losing money over time as the car depreciates. Depreciation is the biggest cost in car ownership.

All-new Movano

Vauxhall is launching their all-new Movano commercial van range offering 29 vehicle body type variations to choose from, front or rear-wheel drive, plus new power trains for lower commercial vehicle operating costs.

The modular platform has been jointly designed with Renault and depending on your payload category, you can also choose rear wheel drive variants with twin wheels. The full range of vehicles will include panel van, doublecab and Combi versions, chassis cabs with standard or crew cab, platform cab, three wheelbases, four lengths and three roof heights. The new Movano will be an excellent base for any conversions and the van will be available ex-works as a tipper, dropside and box van too.

Cabin comfort and safety is high on the agenda, with areas like improved driver visibility, multi-adjustable seats seats (in various configurations) and an adjustable steering column all on offer. The cargo area offers load lengths extending to 4.4 metres and a load capacity upto 17 cubic metres (L4H3 version).

Under the bonnet the van is powered by new generation 2.3-litre CDTi-four-cylinder common-rail diesel engines with three power outputs available (100PS,125PS and 150PS) all linked to a six-speed gearbox as standard. The 125PS and 150PS versions can also be coupled to the semi-auto Techshift. 

Movano cabin interior

ABS and electronic brake force distribution (EBD) is standard on all models while ESP (electronic stability program) is also standard on all rear-wheel drive vans and optional for front-wheel drive. Other safety features include front airbags, side airbags integrated in the seats (optional) and seat-belt pretensioners.

The new Movano range launch phase will be staggered according to the body variants and first vehicles will be available in May 2010.

New Megane Coupe-Cabriolet

Renault has released a preview of the new Megane Coupe-Cabriolet which is being launched at the Geneva Motor Show and becomes the sixth edition in the new Megane line-up.

The new Megane Coupe-Cabriolet has head turning looks and combines the elegance of a coupe with the open top enjoyment of a convertible thanks to its foldaway glass roof. The car is set to launched in Switzerland on the 2nd March and at L’Altelier Renault on the Champs Elysees in Paris on the 5th March.

Z.E protoype

Renault will be showcasing protoypes of some of its electric vehicles at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference and accredited attendees will be allowed to test drive the vehicles as well.

Renault is also forecasting that by 2020, electric vehicles will account for 10 per cent of the world market and has invested (with Nissan) 4 billions euros into its zero-emissions programme.

The protoypes on show will include Fluence Z.E, Kangoo Van Z.E and the Kangoo be bop Z.E. Production versions of these electric vehicles are anticipated to be launched in 2011.

I-Music range

Renault has unveiled a new special edition range called I-Music across 11 Renault models. The I-Music special edition range is available on Clio three-door, Clio five-door, Clio Sport Tourer, Modus, Grand Modus, Kangoo, Megane Hatch, Megane Coupe, Megane Sport Tourer, Scenic and Grand Scenic. Renault car leasing on these special editions are available on the site.

The I-Music range all feature the following;

- Air conditioning

- Alloy Wheels

- Front fog lights

- Brushed aluminium-effect door mirrors

- Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity

- TunePoint.

Gordini returns

Renault has brought back the Gordini brand for their latest pocket rocket. As you would expect the car comes with the distinctive French blue with white racing stripes plus stylish quilted leather upholstery as part of the sporty package.

The exclusive exterior styling is finished off with 17-inch alloy wheels with a polished face and a choice of inner rim, in either blue or black. The car is powered by a powerful 1.6-litre engine delivering 133hp and has a distinctive exhaust sound under acceleration.

It will be launched on January the 10th 2010 and will go on sale in March 2010 when Renault contract hire prices will be availble.