If a Ford Mondeo is the car you want to drive but the high price has deterred you from purchasing the car, then Ford Mondeo contract hire is probably what you should be considering; Ford Mondeo leasing is the most cost effective way of driving this vehicle.

Most of us in the UK like to drive our favourite car but purchasing a vehicle outright may not always be possible. Some motorists opt for a car loan but before making any significant financial decisions, it really makes sense to consider all the pros and cons.

As a general rule if you choose to purchase an immovable property such a house, you can expect its value to appreciate with time but the same does not hold true for cars, in fact quite the reverse. So, it begs the question, why pay for something that keeps losing its value with every passing day?

 With a car lease you can get to drive your favourite model for the best period of its life; the first three years, and then replace it with another brand new car. So if it is the Mondeo that you want to drive, you can lease a Ford Mondeo with monthly payments similar to a less-expensive car on a loan.

 There are so many benefits to leasing a Ford Mondeo, if you consider some of the premium features that you can enjoy with this vehicle: From every angle, it's stylish yet sporty. Once  inside you get a sense of the premium comfort level. Ford's latest diesel and petrol engines perform excellently, whilst Ford's PowerShift transmission and Auto-Start-Stop technologies help protect the environment. You can enjoy driving the new Ford Mondeo lease car for a 36 month term, from as low as £ 274.94 plus Vat per month.

Unlike a car loan, with Ford Mondeo leasing , the residual value (value of the used car at the end of the lease) lowers the leasing cost. Even the maintenance cost of the car can be covered in the total lease cost. You can drive the car of your choice for two to four years and using it when it is in its prime.

At the end of your Ford Mondeo lease, you can return the car to the contract hire company and take delivery of your new car. Cars such as the  Ford Mondeo are increasingly taken on a lease by businesses, this is because above all they need reliability.

It is always worth checking our special offers page, as we often have some very special deals on Ford Mondeo contract hire.

According to Potholes.co.uk and Warranty Direct the average claim for suspension damage caused by potholes is £309, however depending on the car, some claims are up to £2,500. Motorists are asking, "Is this what we pay Road Fund Licence for?"

So which cars cope best with Britain's roads that are now in a worse state than the road systems of some third world countries? One would think, the well-made high end German manufacturers, but no; some of those manufacturer's vehicles were least able to cope, such as Mercedes and Land Rover didn't do well either. So if land Rover can’t cope with potholes, how do they cope in the jungle?

Some cars faired much better than others, the top five cars, most able to cope with our poor roads are as follows:

1. Honda  

2. Toyota

3. Hyundai

4. Nissan

5. Kia

And those least able to cope were:

1. Chrysler

2. Smart

3. Mercedes-Benz

4. Land Rover

5. Jaguar

The state of our roads is now becoming a serious problem, regardless of the car you drive or whether your car has been damaged or not, you still pay; in increased insurance premiums.

Volkswagen Eos contract hire is very popular and is favoured by those who prefer driving a practical and safe vehicle. The electro mechanical steering system,  A excellent 6 speed DSG transmission with Tiptronic, a smooth2 litre TSI engine and FSI direct injection technology are some of the features that make it one of the best cars in its segment, with Volkswagen Eos leasing you have the added benefit that there is no reason to worry about depreciation, because at the end of car lease, you can return it and lease another new vehicle. 

A big advantage when leasing a Volkswagen Eos is the low running and maintenance costs; the Eos 1.4 TSI  Bluemotion has a combined fuel cycle of 45.6 mpg and it’s safe, with a Euro NCAP five star safety rating. Additionally, the monthly payments for a Volkswagen Eos contract hire are typically lower than a car loan; starting at just £340 plus Vat per month.  

There is plenty of room in this car compared with its competitors and the interior has a real quality feel about. Admittedly it is rather more pricy than some of the other cars in this segment but it’s a Volkswagen so it has more style and class. You won’t be disappointed if you choose lease a Volkswagen Eos .

Large off-roaders are very practical in some respects but impractical in others, such as parking; It can be very difficult to find a parking space which a 4x4 such as the Audi Q7 will fit into. The real problem with these vehicles is that they can become very dangerous when reversing; because of their size they are often parked with little space front and rear and if a child walks behind the vehicle whilst attempting to cross the road the driver won’t see them.

In the United States rear view reversing cameras have become law, what is known as the Cameron Gulbransen Transportation Act. The act is so called because Cameron a two year old boy was tragically killed by his own parents as they reversed their SUV. At least some good came out of this terrible tragedy and it will inevitably save other children’s lives in the future.

So if you are about to reverse blind The golden rule is that if you can’t see behind you and the parking sensor buzzes, stop even if you think you have another twelve inches to go; because it could be a child between the sensor and the car behind you. Also if you want to further consider the safety of children, keep you speed down in built up areas; road accidents are the number one killer, of those who are in the 10-24 age group.

 Driving a new car is an enjoyable experience but only if you are driving the car you want rather than the car you can afford. Ford cars are known for their excellent performance, durability and good looks and if the Ford Kuga – the compact crossover SUV – is your dream vehicle, then Ford Kuga contract hire may make it possible. Leasing a Ford is the most convenient cost effective way of driving the car you really want. 

 So what advantages will you enjoy when leasing a Ford Kuga? Ford ’s Smart Technology leaves a lot of other vehicles in its segments trailing behind. Of all its ingenious features, intelligent all-wheel drive is the most remarkable. This is an advanced, on demand, system that gives you absolute control and perfect traction no matter how challenging the terrain. This superior technology is also matched by contemporary styling, which gives the Kuga its distinctive and sporty profile. 

The Kuga's engine delivers a rewardingly responsive performance and impressive fuel consumption. The 2.0-litre TDCi (140 PS) Duratorq 100 kW engine with 6-speed manual transmission provides high levels of torque at low revs (340 Nm at 2,000 rpm) which allows it to cope  with any off-road conditions.

For many it’s not possible to purchase a new car, especially high end vehicles but contract hire and leasing makes it possible for you to drive the car of your choice. 

So if Ford Kuga is the car that you really want to have but cannot afford to buy, then take advantage of contract hire ; Ford Kuga contract hire is very reasonably priced. Contract Hire agreements are usually for a 36 month term, although other terms are available, such as 24, 48 and 60 months. The monthly repayments on a Ford Kuga lease are on average between 35% and 55% less costly than the repayments on a loan for the car.  

If you are considering Ford Kuga  leasing , then according to the late American industrialist, J. Paul Getty you are doing the right thing; he said: – “If it appreciates, buy it. If it depreciates, lease it." Unlike an immovable property such as house or plot of land, a car starts depreciating in value as soon as it’s purchased. 

If you opt for a car loan or a car finance agreement to purchase a car, you simply pay a set amount each month for something that is losing, not gaining in value. This is why it makes sense to lease a Ford Kuga – you get to drive the car of your choice for perhaps three years, without having to worry about its decreasing market value; depreciation is the contract hire company’s problem. The car manufacturer's warranty normally covers the period of the lease and maintenance costs can also be included if you wish.

  Ford Kuga leasing rates are very economical but it’s always worth checking our special offers, because we often have some very special Ford Kuga contract hire deals.

When recently dealing with the thorny issue of German cars being stolen and taken over the border to Poland, the Polish Ambassador said “perhaps it is too easy to steal cars in Germany”. Of course as he knows only too well that Garman cars, or for that matter most new cars, are far from easy to steal. There are some specialists in electronics who are developing more sophisticated ways of stealing cars but the average car thief has to resort to more desperate methods nowadays.

Of our contract hire clients who have had their cars stolen in recent years, none have come back to where they parked their cars and found them gone; the days of hot wiring are over. Even putting a car on a low loader in order to steal it is not without its risks for the car thief; most expensive cars have Tracker fitted and as soon as the car is moved in this manner the owner is alerted. What a car thief really wants is the keys.

A number of our leasing clients have been the victim of carjacking, although this is to some extent avoidable if you keep your wits about you; if a car bumps into your car, enough for you to feel it but not enough to damage the car, be warned that this is a common method used by those who carry out carjacking. They want you to get out of the car to inspect the damage, at which time they will overpower you and take the car.

One of our Jaguar leasing clients was jostled whilst waiting to pay for his petrol, only to come out to find his car had been taken. In the majority of the cases where our clients have had their cars stolen, their homes have been broken into at night and the keys stolen. Most keys are left near the front door, so the thiefs are quickly in and out with little chance of being disturbed. It is debateable as to whether it a good idea to put the keys in a safer place; you perhaps don’t want them coming up to the bedroom to look for the keys.

A number of recent surveys and studies have revealed that BMW drivers are considered to be the most aggressive drivers on the road and this seemed to be confirmed by a survey carried out by Onepoll, to find out if the drivers of certain vehicles sound their horn more than others. It emerged that 53% of  BMW drivers admitted to sounding the horn at least once on every journey, whereas 95% of Nissan drivers said they never use their horn except in an emergency.

BMW contract hire is one of our most popular lines and certainly many company car drivers will often do whatever they can to stretch their budget to a BMW, even if it means contributing to the cost themselves by way of salary sacrifice. Whilst we were always aware that this was partly motivated by prestige, we assumed that those who opted to lease a BMW , did so mainly because they wanted to drive a safe and comfortable car; clearly there is more to it than that.

Whilst the Onepoll survey didn’t go as far as looking at which BMW models were the culprits, we suspect that those who lease a BMW  such as the 1 and 3 Series, are perhaps inclined to drive more aggressively, although of course it difficult to imagine the driver of a BMW M3 not driving aggressively.

There is of course the possibility that those clients who chose a BMW as opposed to say Nissan contract hire , tend to be more competitive and therefore in more of a hurry; there is evidence that competitive individuals are more stressed and tend to rush around more making them more impatient; often this impatience manifests itself behind the wheel.

Our impression is that those who lease a BMW 7 Series are on the whole those who have already arrived and are therefore generally less competitive. Although Jaguar drivers who we would have put in the same category, emerged in the Onepoll survey  to be the second worst offenders, with 45% sounding their horn at least once on every journey.

To confuse matters even further Fiat drivers were the third worst at 43%. Perhaps a lot of Italians drive Fiats; in Italy if you delay the cars behind you by a split second when moving off from the lights, you will be deafened by those behind you sounding their horns.

At the risk of being classed as an aggressive and impatient driver, it’s still worth leasing a BMW; they are wonderful cars.

In the UK we have some of the safest roads in Europe, indeed the world, and they are getting safer all the time. So what has changed to make our roads so much safer than they once were? There are a number of factors not least the fact that cars are infinitely safer than they used to be.

Features such as crumple zones and air bags have made a big difference to road traffic accident survival rates, as has the use of seatbelts; certainly in the 1970’s very few people saw the need to wear a seatbelt, however following a very successful public information film with Jimmy Savile where the slogan was “Clunk click on every trip”, seatbelt use became more widespread.

In the 70,s and the 80’s drink driving was a very common pastime, motorist’s in general didn’t see anything wrong with being far in excess of the legal limit as long as they drove “carefully”. Attitudes were quite different then and a quite common reaction on hearing that a fellow motorist had been charged with drink driving would be “Haven’t the police got anything better to do?".Gradually there became more awareness that it wasn’t only your own life that was at risk, you could easily run over and kill a child, whilst your reactions were impaired. 

When you look at the road death toll in other European countries it is usually quite easy to identify the cause; in the Eastern European countries drink driving is still a major factor as are old poorly maintained vehicles. One of the most hair raising things about driving in Portugal is watching over-laden underpowered family saloons overtaking on blind bends. In Spain and Greece, it’s a combination of impatience, speed, and alcohol. Added to this, the other cause of so many accidents in Southern Europe, is driving at high speed, two to three yards behind the car in front.

Many forget when they go on a driving holiday in Europe that they are generally in a much more dangerous environment than at home. However as long as you keep out of the overtaking lane as much as possible, keep your distance and don’t drive with a lorry behind you, you will usually come back in one piece.

If you want an inexpensive car that looks a lot more costly than it is, then the Insignia is the car. A few years ago Vauxhall’s were almost exclusively fleet cars bought by large companies and usually the employees were not given a choice. Many used to complain bitterly because the Vauxhall was seen as a downmarket car but not anymore; many of our Vauxhall contract hire sales are where employees are free to choose the manufacturer and they opt for Vauxhall .

This is a manufacturer that has moved considerably upmarket over the past few years and this is seen most notably in the Insignia, it’s a wonderful looking car with a lot of style. It’s economical to run, the combined fuel cycle for the diesel version is over 60mpg and it is also inexpensive to lease; Vauxhall Insignia leasing starts at just £234 plus Vat per month, which represents a lot of car for the money. You can choose from 210 different Insignia models on our website.

The main reasons our roads are in such a poor state is that unlike other countries we just dont spend enough on them. However, as extraordinary as it may seem, there is no standard definition in the UK as to what a pothole is, so it begs the question, are we ever going to get this problem sorted out?

The highways agency that looks after major trunk roads and motorways defines a pothole as one that is a minimum of 1.57 inches deep and 5.9 inches wide. Lambeth Council in London set their depth as 1.5 inches, whilst Stockport council expects motorists who think a pothole should be filled in, to send in a photograph, whilst presumably getting run over in the process.

There is also no standard definition as to when a crevice becomes a pothole. When the Association of British Insurers -who's members are constantly paying out for vehicles damaged by potholes – was asked to define a pothole a spokesperson helpfully said  “I have absolutely no idea”

According to the AA potholes are on the increase and they are dangerous; particularly to motor cyclists. Hyundai's production plant has had a specially built section of road, complete with potholes, so they can test their cars in British road conditions; how embarrassing is that? 

 Contrary to the popular myth, the term pothole doesn't date back to when the Romans built their roads of clay and locals used to scoop it out to make pots.