At £5,995, the Dacia Sandero is the cheapest new car on the market – but is it worth considering?

Dacia is a new brand on the UK market – essentially a budget sub- brand owned by French giant Renault but based in Romania. Dacia has just launched the Duster SUV in the UK – and now it’s bringing in a new supermini called the Sandero.

With launch prices starting at just £5,995, the Sandero is a headline- grabber, as it’s the cheapest new car on sale in the UK. Yet it’s the same size as regular superminis like the Ford Fiesta, and its hatchback boot will swallow a claimed 320 litres, which is bigger than the new Renault Clios.

Specification is pared right down to keep costs low – for instance, the £5,995 Access model doesn’t even have an audio system and only comes with white paint and black bumpers. The entry level is available on finance from as little as £69 per month. However, this base model is devoid of almost any creature comforts. In contrast, the most expensive 1.5 dCi Laureate Sandero, with air con and electric windows, costs £9,795.

The Sandero made history for Dacia in January in one of the most important automotive markets in Europe. The new generation of Sandero managed to reach the first position in sales in Spain becoming the first Dacia model that was the best selling car in a country outside Romania.

Every new Dacia is covered by a standard 3 year / 60,000 mile* warranty package. Your new Dacia also comes with a 2 year paintwork warranty, as well as a 6 year anti-corrosion warranty.

Why not try a test drive today?

Call Blackburn Motor Park on 0844 248 8449 for an appointment and more information.

Mazda’s new-generation flagship Mazda 6 has arrived at Northampton Motors following its unveiling at the Paris Motor Show on 27 September 2012. Prices for petrol models will start at £19,595 OTR for the 2.0-litre 145ps Saloon SE, rising to £24,865 for the 2.0-litre 165ps Tourer Sport Nav. Diesel variants start at £21,795 for the 2.2-litre 150ps Saloon SE through to £28,045 for the 2.2-litre 175ps Tourer/Saloon Sport Nav Auto.

The all-new Mazda6 – now in its third generation – is the first mass- production Mazda model to be equipped with i-ELOOP, the Japanese company’s unique brake energy regeneration system. Fitted as standard to the majority of Mazda6 models sold in the UK, this innovative system can boost economy by up to 10 percent with combined fuel economy as high as 67.3mpg and emissions as low as 108g/km – without any sacrifice in performance – based on CO2, depending on driving conditions.

The SKYACTIV-Body offers class-leading impact protection thanks to highly rigid impact-absorbing structures and innovative load paths to disperse energy away from the cabin. To help the driver avoid accidents, the all-new Mazda6 features an impressive array of advanced active safety technologies (depending on model) such as radar-based Rear Vehicle Monitoring, Smart City Brake Support (SCSB) and Lane Departure Warning System. Even when a collision is unavoidable, passive safety technologies work to diminish its severity for occupants and pedestrians – and even the vehicle itself.

Passengers will appreciate the relaxing atmosphere in the cabin, which features segment-leading passenger space on the Saloon models, accompanied by the latest infotainment technology, including an 11-speaker BOSE® surround sound audio system, available on Sport models.

Specially developed to highlight the features of the Mazda6’s KODO design, Soul Red Metallic is an all-new body colour, which uses a unique process to deliver unprecedented levels of depth, shading and vividness that accentuate all-new Mazda6’s stunning form and character lines. Blue Reflex Mica, Meteor Grey Mica and Jet Black Mica also debut on the all- new Mazda6.

To view and test drive the class leading new Mazda 6, contact any of our Mazda Dealerships on 08448 567121

Grange Aston Martin Brentwood has delivered its first Vanquish to Company Director, Stewart Norris. The car which was personally specified by Mr Norris looked stunning in ‘Cobalt Blue’ with a Cream Truffle leather interior. Mr Norris seen here on the right with Sales Specialist Garry Gayle has been a guest of Grange Brentwood for some time and has had a number of Aston Martins from Grange in the past although this particular car marks a very special occasion for him.

Garry Gayle, Sales Executive at Grange Aston Martin Brentwood, is in training for a grueling 100 mile charity bike ride in August.

Garry, a keen cyclist and a member of the Bigfoot Cycle Club in Bromley, is riding in the Prudential Ride London event on the 4th August and hoping to complete the ride in under 7 hours. The ride takes place on closed roads and will start at the Olympic Park in Stratford, East London, and follows a route through the Capital and into the Surrey countryside finishing on The Mall in Central London.

Garry is fundraising for Shelter whose tireless efforts help to alleviate the distress caused by homelessness and bad housing.

If you would like to sponsor Garry and make a donation, please contact him at garry.gayle@grange.co.uk or go to his Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/GarryGayle

We are pleased to announce the acquisition of County motor works.

Strengthening our links with Vauxhall with the purchase of Essex-based County Motor Works for £4.1m.

County Motor Works represents Vauxhall, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler-Jeep in Chelmsford.

The purchase, financed from the group’s own resources, includes freehold assets worth £2.9m.

In December last year, announcing its results, Cambria said it had set aside £20m for acquisitions and would be actively looking to buy businesses in 2013.

The County Motor Works deal follows the acquisition of Doves Vauxhall Southampton, Cambria’s first Vauxhall dealership, in 2012.

Cambria said County Motor Works has historically been loss making, however the acquisition is expected to breakeven at the group level in its first full year of trading.

Cambria Automobiles chief executive Mark Lavery said: “We are delighted to have acquired County Motor Works and continue to work alongside Vauxhall, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler-Jeep to identify opportunities to extend our partnership in line with our buy and build strategy.

“We have now completed nine acquisitions since we formed the group in 2006 and represent 16 brands across 42 franchised outlets representing a balanced portfolio with a strong mix of prestige and high luxury and volume businesses,” he said.

Click here for full story

Motorparks

Although the Fiat 500L shares part of its name with the company’s chic city car, it’s actually a much larger beast. Based on the platform of the Punto supermini, it’s longer, wider and taller than its most obvious rival, the Citroen C3 Picasso.

It’s also the first major addition to the family of 500 models, a range which will eventually grow to include both a seven-seat version of the 500L and a crossover to rival the Nissan Juke.

The closest example is the Mini family, and like BMW’s baby, the 500L will be available with a host of colour combinations, trims and accessories, allowing owners to personalise their car.

The engine line-up will include 0.9-litre Twinair and 1.4-litre petrol engines (with 104 and 94bhp, respectively) and an 84bhp 1.3 diesel, but with the car not due to go on sale in the UK until 2013, we’re some way from knowing details of the final prices and specifications.

What’s the 2013 Fiat 500L like to drive?

Of the three engines that will eventually be available in the UK, we’ve driven only the two petrols.

Neither gives especially strong performance, but the smaller engine has a bigger advantage than you might expect from the difference in performance figures.

Yes, the 1.4-litre makes all the right semi-sporty noises, but it never gets the car moving very quickly, and the shortage of torque at low revs can be very frustrating, because it forces you to make all-too frequent use of the notchy manual gearshift.

The 0.9-litre Twinair unit would be the obvious choice – it’s appreciably stronger in the mid-range, especially with peak torque coming at 2000rpm – but for the fact that it’s less refined. The amount of noise it produces, along with the considerable vibration you feel, makes it a far from relaxing companion.

If you can live with that, though, the 500L copes well with city life. It’s quick enough from one set of traffic lights to the next, and the high driving position gives you a good view out. With light steering, too, the 500L is easy to manoeuvre.

Out of town, the 500L handles bends reasonably well. There’s plenty of body roll, thanks to the soft suspension, but it doesn’t unsettle the car.

The only major drawbacks are the ride – which is too lumpy too much of the time for our liking – and the refinement; a lot of wind noise is generated by the door mirrors and windscreen at the motorway limit.

What’s the 2013 Fiat 500L like inside?

The cabin is much more like the Panda’s than the 500′s – which is no bad thing. With its consciously stylish design, it’s as bright and eye-catching as the exterior, but practical with it.

There’s plenty of space for the driver and front-seat passenger; and, even though the driving position is more upright than that of a conventional hatchback, pretty much anyone should be able to get comfortable behind the wheel.

The dashboard is well arranged, too, with clear dials that glow with a warm light at night, and nice chunky controls for the heating and ventilation. Crowning the top of the centre console is a new touch-screen infotainment system, which is as easy to use as it is stylish

Getting into the rear seats is also easy thanks to the wide-opening rear doors. True, the seats themselves are set higher than those in the front, so headroom is a little more restricted, but only those over six feet tall will be short of space.

The seats also slide backwards and forwards, allowing owners to maximise bootspace or legroom. Even with them pushed right forward, legroom is decent, and with them right back, it’s positively limo-like.

What’s more, with a flat centre seat and a virtually flat floor, it should be possible to squeeze three passengers across the rear bench in reasonable comfort.

The boot, too, is a good size and accessed through a tailgate that opens very high. Admittedly, the boot isn’t as wide as you may expect given the size of the car’ body, but it is a nice square shape, and features some neat touches such as pop-out bag holders and extra cubbies built into the sides.

Perhaps the neatest trick, though, is the three-position boot floor. In its lowest setting, this gives you the full height of the boot to play with; in the second setting, it sits level with the sill, making it easier to load; and, in its top setting, it sits level with the top of the (60/40 split) rear seat backs when they are folded down, as well as neatly partitioning the boot.

To let you further extend the bootspace, the rear seats tumble and fold to sit up against the front seats in a neat one-touch manoeuvre. However, they are rather heavy to push back upright again.

Last, but not least, the cabin includes loads of stowage, including twin gloveboxes and good-sized bins in all four doors, as well as a front passenger seat back that folds flat onto the cushion to allow long loads to be carried – perfect for flat-pack furniture.

Should I buy one?

This is a very difficult question to answer, given that two of the most vital pieces of information – the car’ price and its specification – are still months away from being finalised.

Nevertheless, the looks alone will doubtless tempt people who are considering the Citroen C3 Picasso. Equally, there’s no doubt that the 500L will answer the prayers of 500 owners whose lives have outgrown their current car, but who want something every bit as stylish to cope with the extra demands.

In practical terms, the 500L has a lot going for it, even if none of what it offers is especially novel. Likewise, it’s not the best car in its class to drive, and the two engines we have sampled so far have some shortcomings, but even so, the 500L is worth considering.

Read the full article here

Motorparks

You think only big, powerful, expensive cars have soul? Then the Fiat Panda 4×4 proves you wrong. There’s nothing new about what the Panda 4×4 brings to the table, there’s been an AWD Panda since 1983. But every single one has managed to make a quirky, useful little car that appeals on a myriad of levels. And the new one carries on that proud tradition. Top Gear reckons that “it’s so compact it’ll weave between trees and rocky obstacles that defeat the galumphing full-size off-roaders” and in town is “squeezable, cheeky and glides so gently over humps it wouldn’t even wake a sleeping policeman.” This, and a list price of around £14k means that you buy the Panda 4×4 not because you can’t afford anything else, but because it’s the best tool for the job. And that’s why it became Top Gear Magazine’s SUV of the Year. A cheeky Award for a charming, and cheeky car.

For full story click here

www.motorparks.co.uk

One of the safest cars ever built will not be sold in the United States. The Euro NCAP, similar to our National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, put the all-new 2013 Volvo V40 through a battery of crash tests and found that it is one of the safest cars it has tested.

The Euro NCAP’s testing consists of cars being tested in four categories (adult occupant, child occupant, pedestrian and safety assist) for vehicle safety, and the V40 drove (or more likely was towed) away with some of the top scores the agency has ever handed out. The 98 percent adult occupant rating is the highest result recorded by the Euro NCAP, while the car’s innovative pedestrian airbag helped it receive an equally impressive 88-percent rating for pedestrian safety. This safety device is actually an airbag underneath the hood, and when contact with a pedestrian is detected, the airbag inflates, raising the rear portion of the hood which helps to cushion the a person’s head or body as it makes contact with the car.

The Volvo V40 was perfect in the safety assist category thanks to systems like Pedestrian Detection, City Safety, auto braking and numerous other active safety features. The only knock that the V40 took was to child occupant protection. Its 75-percent rating is one of the lowest of the recent batch of tested cars, which also includes the Audi A3, Kia Cee’d and Ford B-Max.

In addition to being one of the safest Volvos produced so far, the V40 is also one of the best-looking Volvo models ever. We already had a chance to sample the new V40 back in June, and we were impressed with the car and what it could do to bolster Volvo’s U.S. lineup. Still, Volvo has stated that it has no intentions of selling its new compact hatchback here, despite the growth of the premium small car segment in this market.

Click here for full blog at Autoblog

www.motorparks.co.uk

There’s something in the service water at Grange Jaguar

Grange, the Jaguar Automotive Dealership in Swindon, has always been a supporter in the investment of youth and has a history of recruiting and producing high quality, apprentice trained vehicle technicians.

So it came as little surprise that their employee, Scott Sheriden, won the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ at a recent ceremony celebrating the best young talent in the Motor Industry.

Having completed his three year Jaguar Land Rover apprenticeship with Grange, Scott, along with the other apprentices in the region that passed the course, was entered in to the Apprentice of the Year, sponsored by City Guilds.

The candidates were subjected to a series of rigorous questions in round one regarding the technology and diagnostic equipment used in modern Jaguars.

Scott excelled in this round and was subsequently entered into the final round where he had to undergo a series of practical assessments and make a presentation on a subject of his choice.

Having impressed the technical trainers with his practical skills, Jaguar Land Rover’s Training Manager, Dr Adrian Birch, was particularly complementary on Scott’s presentation on diesel particulate filters.

On Sunday the 30th September, Scott, accompanied by his Service Manager, Paul Titheradge who himself has completed a Jaguar Land Rover Apprenticeship Scheme, attended the final’s presentation evening along with the six other finalists.

Scott was awarded the title ‘Apprentice of the Year 2012’ and was presented with £6,000 worth of Jaguar Land Rover diagnostic equipment for his service department to the delight of his colleagues and Grange’s customers.

Scott’s Service Manager, Paul Titheradge commented

“I’ve seen Scott progress from a shy 16 year old school leaver into a confident young man and think he has a very bright future”.

www.grange.co.uk | www.motorparks.co.uk

Aston Martin was founded 100 years ago, and the new Vanquish symbolises the start of the next 100 years. Vanquish is the ultimate expression of what Aston Martin do best, and continues an unparalleled lineage of Aston Martin Sporting Grand Tourers and mixes beautiful design with cutting edge technology.

The Aston Martin Vanquish is underpinned with the VH platform generation 4, (Vertical/Horizontal platform) based on the carbon architecture found in the One-77. It uses far more carbon fibre in its design than previous VH Chassis and it, in turn, will be used as a basis for all new Aston Martins in the years to come, enabling Astons to continually evolve and adapt in response to all customer needs, legislative changes and the global market place in which all the cars will be sold.

Vanquish has been engineered to offer comfort, refinement, luxury and usability blended with unquestionable power, performance and agility. To create this, the car has been examined in every single aspect of the VH technology architecture to ensure the engineering solutions are wholly appropriate to the needs of the car and driver.

The successor to the Aston Martin DBS, Vanquish is the new top of the range car that offers enhanced performance delivered through the weight saving of the full carbon fibre bodywork, as well as the increased power from the next generation of naturally aspirated 6.0ltr V12, delivering 565 bhp at 6750 rpm and 620 Nm torque at 5500 rpm. This equates to 94 bhp/litre at 6750 rpm, in spite of the engine fuel consumption reduction of c. 10%.

The first cars are expected to arrive later this year, ready for the first deliveries early 2013.

For more info visit:

www.grange.co.uk | www.motorparks.co.uk