2011 Renault Espace

Renault has refined the 2011 Espace with greater levels of new equipment, subtle design changes, better pricing and improved engines. This iconic Renault MPV now comes with LED technology, new 17-inch Eptius and Novadis alloy wheels, while its new headlights match the new Pearl Blue body colour and gloss back exterior trim.

Inside the 2011 Espace now benefits from the Carminat Tom Tom system, with real-time satellite navigation, plus the new diesel engines reduce CO2 emissions and improve fuel consumption too. The new engines are all Euro V compliant and one has automatic transmission with the new car being available to order from the 8th of November. Renault business car leasing on these now models will be on the site soon.

Trafficmaster Smartnav

Citroen is now offering Trafficmaster Smartnav and Trackstar (stolen vehicle package) as an option on all Nemo, Berlingo First and all other Combi and chassis variants at just £399+VAT, which is heavily subsidised and covers three years subscription to the service. The package is already standard on most Berlingo and all Dispatch and Relay panel vans.

Charles Peugeot, Head of Commercial Vehicles and Business Sector said,”Citroen fits Trafficmaster Smartnav satellite navigation as standard to more LCVs than any other manufacturer. The introduction of this heavily subsidised £399+VAT option now brings the availability of these benefits to the remainder of our LCV range”. Citroen customers can also fit Fleet Director at £19.99 +VAT per month which offers a real-time fleet management programme.

Citroen Enterprise range

Citroen has launched a seven-strong “Enterprise” range of Nemo, Berlingo, Dispatch and Relay panel vans based on the best selling version in each model range. The new Enterprise vans have amongst the highest levels of standard equipment available on any van range on the UK.

All the models will benefit from air-conditioning as standard for enhanced driver comfort, Bluetooth communications package plus reverse parking sensors for improved safety. Here are the headlines for the ranges;

• Berlingo & Dispatch Enterprise models also feature USB connectivity for iPods.
• Dispatch Enterprise models include full steel bulkheads, electrically adjustable heated and twin-lens folding door mirrors, plus fog lights.
• The two new Relay Enterprise vans also get full steel bulkheads.
• In addition, Trafficmaster Smartnav satellite navigation with Trackstar stolen vehicle tracking is also standard on all Berlingo, Dispatch and Relay Enterprise models.  

The RAC Foundation in conjuction with Ipsos MORI has published the results of a survey that concluded over half of motorists would rather take the chance of getting stuck in a traffic jam rather than get on public transport. These findings are amongst a report called “The Congestion Challenge” which is a new survey on car use and congestion.

The survey found the following:

- 53% of drivers prefer being stuck in a traffic jam rather than having to use public transport.

- 77% however support increasing the number and frequency of buses to tackle traffic growth.

- 41% think congestion is a serious problem in their area however this has fallen from 63% in 1999.

- 61% think that congestion will rise over the next five years.

- 44% of drivers oppose any form of congestion charge for driving into city centres even if the money is spent on improving local transport. This has risen from 32% in 2001.

- Support for congestion charging schemes has also fallen from 54% to 41% over the same period.

Ben Marshall, who is the Research director of Ipsos MORI and a co-author of the report said “Perhaps the biggest challenge facing policy-makers and politicians is what to do next. In particular, should public opinion be followed, or led? Who should do this, and how?

Traffic congestion will always be an issue especially in the “rush hour” and with continuing road-work improvements, however before setting off on your next journey try the Trafficmaster mapping service at Comparecontracthire.com. Trafficmaster is a leading authority in satellite and navigation tracking.

Trafficmaster road mapping

This unique mapping feature allows you to search throughout the UK to find out road speeds and potential jams so you can avoid them. You can increase or decrease the scale of the map by using the icon “magnifying glass” in the top left hand corner of the display.

Live UK road map

You’ve packed the car (or van) and are ready to set off on your long journey. Satellite navigation system has been set plus all the other essentials you will need. The question is on your planned route, are there any major delays? It could be 100 miles away, with traffic reduced to a crawl, but how do you find out?

Well one of the ways is to use the unique Trafficmaster News Map which Comparecontracthire.com partner, Trafficmaster has provided from the site. With 7,500 cameras nationwide, this live map of UK motorways, can give you an instant view of where all the problems are. Refreshed every 30 seconds by Trafficmaster it is the most instant picture you will get of slow moving traffic.

If you can see that the M6 has traffic running at 5mph you can reset your satellite navigation system to take an alternative route. Trafficmaster offers a wide range of satellite navigation and other fleet related services like Smartnav and are leaders in their field.

Mitsubishi Evolution X

Mitsubishi is launching a new Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 in June 2009 which will be the fastest car they have ever produced. This will be the tenth version of the Lancer Evolution and will be the flagship model, offering peak power of 403bhp @6500 rpm and peak torque of 525Nm@ 3,500 rpm.

This extreme version of the Mitsubishi’s motorsport derived machine powers the car from 0-62 mph in 3.8 seconds (est.) and has a top speed of 155mph (electronically limited), where permitted. The car has an advanced lightweight aluminium 2.0-litre turbocharged MIVEC (Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control) petrol engine. Traction is superb with the sophisticated Super-All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) four wheel drive system giving the FQ-400 sensational cross country performance. Depending on the weather and driving conditions you can also select from three options: Tarmac, Gravel and Snow.

Mitsubishi Evolution X

Lightweight 18-inch, nine spoke alloy wheels fitted with Toyo Proxes R1R tyres enhance the FQ-400′s grip, providing a sharper cornering response and precision cornering. The revised braking system system uses aerospace grade aluminium alloys and floating sealed discs grabbed by high performance pads to keep the power under control. Bilstein shock absorbers and Eibach Springs offer you a sporting suspension capability but also allow the car to be driven quite comfortably around town.

Standard equipment includes Bluetooth hands free telephone connection, CD-tuner with 30 Gig hard drive, DVD satellite navigation and privacy glass.   

If you are looking for a supercar but can’t afford the price of one then perhaps the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ-400 is the one for you? The manufacturer list price is £49,999 and the car is covered by a three year 36,000 mile warranty.

South Tyneside Council which provides services for over 150,000 residents has just signed up with Trafficmaster, to use the latest Fleet Director fleet management solution including the Smartnav intelligent satellite navigation system. Fleet Director is being retro-fitted to 221 existing vehicles in their fleet and 124 new Citroen vans, being delivered in May, have had these features already fitted.

Fleet Director is basically an internet-based fleet management system making sure you are operating your vehicles in the most productive and cost effective way. Fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 30% and productivity by 12%, according to Fleet Director data.

Smartnav is Trafficmaster’s highly sophisticated in-vehicle satellite system enabling South Tyneside’s drivers to receive live traffic information with time-aware routing through the Smartnav Touchscreen facility.

Ray Hepburn, Fleet Manager at South Tyneside Council said ” We chose to use the Fleet Director system because it gives us the ability to see all our vehicles in real time and to ensure we manage their journeys and work schedules in the most efficient way. This will save time and reduce our fuel costs and wear and tear on the vehicles”.