Author Archives: Van Rental

Ford Marks Southampton Closure With Transit Charity Donation

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Ford donated 3 minibuses to Southampton communityFord has marked the closure of its Transit plant in Southampton by donating three of the last Transit minibuses built at the factory to local organisations with long-standing ties to the Southampton plant.

Two of the minibuses were donated to Naomi House children’s hospice and The Cedar School, both of which have long-standing ties with Southampton employees at the Ford plant.

The third minibus was donated to Southampton City Council, in recognition of the firm’s long-standing relationship with the city and its community.

The council’s white, nine-seater minibus was handed over to The Right Worshipful the Mayor of Southampton (Councillor Ivan White) by Southampton operations manager, John Oldham, and will be used by Southampton charities and organisations across the city as a community bus.

Ford is no longer the major employer it used to be in the city, but it has been able to re-employ 134 employees at its new Vehicle Refurbishment Centre, which has opened on the existing Ford site at Swaythling and is the result of a £12m investment in the future of the site. The new facility will prepare vehicles for sale through Ford Direct, the company’s approved use sales program.

Europcar Trials ‘Pop-Up’ London Van Hire Locations

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Pop-up shops — temporary locations in unused or temporary premises — seem to be all the rage at the moment.

The latest development in the pop-up craze has come from an unexpected direction — Europcar’s largest car and van hire company, Europcar.

Europcar is currently trialling 14 new pop-up locations in London, in an effort to speed up customers’ access to rental cars and vans in the capital.

The pop-up branches are being operated as Meet & Greet locations and will offer Europcar’s full fleet of vans and cars available for collection in London.

When a customer arrives at one of the new branches, they will be met by a Europcar representative who will take them to their pre-booked hire van or car, enabling them to continue with their journey as quickly and seamlessly as possible.

It’s not clear how near the pre-booked cars and vans will beheld to the pop-up location, but I guess it’s reasonable to assume that they will be much closer than the nearest Europcar branch, enabling customers to cut out travel time across London to the nearest permanent London rental branch.

Europcar’s pop-up locations will be open six days a week, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm, and Saturday, 8am to 1pm. The full list of Europcar pop-up locations is:

  • Battersea
  • Borehamwood
  • Camden
  • Chingford
  • Crystal Palace
  • Dartford
  • Earls Court
  • Ilford
  • New Cross
  • New Southgate
  • Notting Hill
  • Orpington
  • Staples Corner
  • Wood Green

Pop-up locations can be booked through Europcar’s website in the normal way and show up in the booking system as ‘Meet & Greet’ locations – e.g. ‘New Southgate Meet & Greet’. For more details or to make a booking, visit Europcar’s website.

Van Hire For Students & Young Drivers: How Much Does It Cost For Drivers Under 25?

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If you’re aged between 21 and 25 and you need to hire a van, you will find that your choice of rental companies is restricted. Some companies won’t rent to young drivers — and those that do will normally charge an additional young driver surcharge.

If you’re under 21, things get even worse. I’m afraid that none of the major van rental companies will accept your business. Even if you’ve had a full, clean driving licence since you were 17, you’re out of luck.

If you’re a student trying to head back to university in a hired van under your own steam, I’m afraid you may not be able to, unless you are already 21, so it may be time to enlist the help of a parent, or an older friend or sibling.

Young Driver Surcharges – how much?

As far as I know, all companies will require drivers under 25 to pay a young driver surcharge, but the cost of this can vary considerably between companies. Here’s a quick summary of the minimum ages and the young driver surcharges charged by each of the main companies we include in our van hire price comparison searches on vanrental.co.uk*:

  • OUR PICK: Thrifty: All drivers must be over 21. Drivers aged under 25 can only rent short wheelbase vans (e.g. Ford Transit SWB and smaller). Drivers aged 21-24 are subject to an additional charge of £25 per day. This is about as good as it gets for under-25 van hire — click here to get a Thrifty quote.
  • Sixt: Age restrictions vary for different types of van, but smaller vans are available for drivers from age 21, subject to a young driver surcharge of £30 per day. Age restrictions apply to drivers aged under 25.
  • Europcar & National: Minimum age 22, a surcharge of £32.50 per day applies to drivers under 25. Additional restrictions apply at some locations to drivers under 26.
  • Hertz: Hertz doesn’t list age requirements for smaller vans, but 23 is the minimum age for UK hires. Most vehicles require drivers to be at least 25 years old. The smallest car groups allow drivers aged 23 on payment of a young driver surcharge of £30.84 per day (up to a maximum of £308.40).
  • Van Hire 3000: As Van Hire 3000 is a broker, age restrictions and surcharges vary depending on the supplying hire company and the vehicle being hired. In general terms, age and young driver surcharges may apply to drivers aged 21-25.
  • Argus Car Hire: As Argus Car Hire is a broker, age restrictions and surcharges vary depending on the supplying hire company and the vehicle being hired. In general terms, age and young driver surcharges may apply to drivers aged 21-25.

If this article has frustrated you, then I’m sorry! I don’t make the rules, and in some other countries you can hire at a younger age than in the UK. However, forewarned is forearmed — so I hope you will see this information in time to make alternative plans.

For what it’s worth, I reckon Thrifty is the best of the bunch, with Sixt in second place. Drivers aged 21 and upwards can hire vans up to the size of a Ford Transit SWB from Thrifty, which is plenty big enough for many purposes. Thrifty’s daily young driver surcharge is also the cheapest of those listed here, and the firm’s hire rates are generally pretty competitive, too.

This article is part of a series looking at the true cost of van hire. To learn more about the true cost of van hire, check out the following articles:

*All figures were checked at the time of writing in August 2013, but these may be subject to change. vanrental.co.uk and the author take no responsibility for any errors, omissions or future changes. Please check yourself before booking.

EXCLUSIVE: Save 10% on Hertz Van Rental With VanRental.co.uk

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Hertz logoHere at vanrental.co.uk, our main goal is to save you money on van hire. We’re sometimes able to negotiate exclusive discount codes with some of the UK’s top van rental companies, and I’m very pleased to say that we have managed to arrange an exclusive voucher code deal with Hertz for this week.

EXCLUSIVE : 10% Off Hertz Van Rental and collect Nectar points

  • Code:  778647
  • Pick up period: 26th August to 22nd September 2013
  • Valid: From: 26th August 2013 / Expires: 1st September 2013

This offer has now expired.

>> CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE HERTZ WEBSITE <<

Mercedes-Benz Citan Is Hit With Global Customers

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Global Self Drive Mercedes-Benz fleet

Global Self Drive operates more than 1,000 vehicles, most of which are Mercedes

The newest small van on the block is proving popular with a wide variety of customers, including van hire companies, according to several recent reports. Peterborough-based Global Self Drive recently purchased its first 25 Citans, and had placed them all on rental with major account customers within days.

The company has since purchased an additional 52 Citans to add to its predominantly Mercedes fleet, which is based at its head office in Peterborough, as well as other outlets in Cambridge, Colchester, Grantham and Ipswich and at a new corporate office at Stansted, which serves operators based in and around London.

Launched earlier this year, the Citan marks the entry of Mercedes-Benz into the small van market and leads the field in terms of fuel efficiency, achieving up to 65.7 mpg and producing CO2 emissions as low as 112 g/km.

Global Self Drive’s Citans have all been Long-bodied 109 CDIs with 90 hp diesel engines, and Managing Director Darren Reeves says that the Citan represents an exciting new addition to the portfolio of products which his company offers for long-term contract and ‘spot’ hire.

“The Citan fills a gap in the Mercedes-Benz line-up and is a very welcome addition to the range,” he says. “It offers all of the attributes of quality, reliability and driver appeal that make Mercedes-Benz vehicles such a popular choice with our customers, but in a small and highly fuel-efficient package.

“Indeed,” he continues, “the Citan’s economy is its biggest advantage. Many of our vehicles cover big mileages and as it’s the customers who pay at the pumps, being able to offer them the most fuel-efficient vehicles is crucial to the success of our business. We’ve been greatly encouraged by some of the savings in diesel costs that customers are reporting.”

Global Self Drive maintains its fleet in-house but relies on Orwell Truck & Van and other members of the Mercedes-Benz dealer network for parts and warranty support, and for emergency back-up.

Heading Back To Uni? Book Van Hire Now Before It’s Too Late

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vanrental.co.uk vanIf you or your parents are planning to book a hire van to help transport your stuff back to uni (or maybe you’re sharing with a friend), you may face availability problems for your chosen dates if you have not already booked.

Many van hire companies report a surge of demand in August/early September as the UK’s two million undergraduate students all head back to university within a few days of each other.

Here at vanrental.co.uk, we can help by allowing you to compare prices from most of the UK’s major van rental companies in one place (we’ll be adding live prices from more companies very soon, too — watch this space).

You can start comparing van hire prices here, or get more information on student van hire and self-storage here. If you’re planning on driving yourself, then you made need one-way hire — our comparison system can also compare prices for one-way UK van hire quotes, so whatever your requirement, we should be able to help get you started.

Finally, if you or your co-driver hasn’t driven a van before, then I’d recommend you check out our guide to driving a van for the first time, too. It’s short, sweet and packed full of essential tips, based on my many years’ experience of driving a van as my daily drive.

Engine Remapping Company Wins Award For £30m Fuel Cost Saving

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Remapped BT Ford Transit

Viezu’s BlueOptimize technology uses ECU remapping to cut fleets’ fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

Cutting fuel costs has become a key operational requirement for fleet operators over the last few years. Manufacturers are increasingly helping by including advanced telematics and driver training aids as standard, but one approach that has proved successful for some operators is to have an advanced, bespoke ECU remap.

Remapping is normally associated with performance gains, but it can also be used to reduce fuel consumption and cut emissions. Viezu is a company that specialises in ECU remapping, and its BlueOptimize technology recently won a Motor Transport 2013 Award after BlueOptimize helped save one of the UK’s largest fleets save an estimated £30m in fuel costs over eight years.

Through a clever combination of speed, rev and throttle limiting which are tailored to the user’s specific vehicle use and needs, BlueOptimize offers savings of up to 15 percent in fuel costs and 20 percent reductions in CO2 emissions.

Viezu didn’t mention which fleet contract led to the award, but it did say that “bespoke software files were written for each of the company’s 24,000 vehicles over a six month period by Viezu’s centrally located team of software development engineers. New remap files were supplied back to the customer’s 63 garages with an average response time of just five minutes.” This matches the company’s description of its BT fleet contract award, which was announced late last year.

Whoever, the client, the gains delivered by BlueOptimize are impressive and demonstrate the advantages of intelligently limiting vehicle performance to optimise fuel consumption and emissions. It’s a similar but more sophisticaed approach to the Zeta ExcelArate I first mentioned back in 2010, which restricts the performance of empty vans and trucks so that they drive as if they were fully loaded, all the time, saving up to 10% on fuel in the process.

Similar technology has since become available as original equipment on a number of vans and trucks — expect more to follow, as this is a definite winner from a fleet operator’s perspective.

UK CV Manufacturing Output Down 11.8% In July As Home Demand Slumps

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After a brief resurgence in June, the UK’s commercial vehicle manufacturing sector returned to its year-long decline in July, as output fell by 11.8%.

So far this year, the story has been one of strong home demand, but poor export demand. However, this situation reversed last month, as UK CV exports rose by 20.3%, while home demand slumped by a massive 45%, compared to July 2012.

So far this year, total UK CV manufacturing output is down by 13.3% on a year-to-date basis (compared to the same period last year). The falls are likely to continue in August, as Ford’s Southampton factory closed down at the end of July, marking the end of Ford Transit production in the UK.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these two graphs show how the UK’s commercial vehicle manufacturing has been decimated — and completely failed to recover — since 2008:

UK Commercial vehicle output 2007-2013

UK CV output remains at less than half the peak level reached in 2008, and output continues to decline on a year-on-year basis (graphs courtesy of SMMT)

Commenting on the figures, Nigel Base, SMMT Commercial Vehicle Manager, said:

“Commercial vehicle manufacturers continue to battle against weak demand, despite a moderate increase in exports in July,” said Nigel Base, SMMT Commercial Vehicle Manager. “The outlook for commercial vehicle manufacturing for the rest of the year continues to be tough, especially following the closure of the Ford facility in Southampton at the end of July. However, there are some areas, such as  bus and coach production, where we are continuing to see growth as operators take advantage of the wide range of vehicles built in the UK.”

It’s certainly true that one or two UK CV manufacturers — such as bus builder Optare — are doing ok, but in general, the picture does seem pretty grim, as the SMMT figures for July show:

CV manufacturing Jul-12 Jul-13 % Change YTD-12 YTD-13 % Change
Total 9,004 7,942 -11.8% 65,100 56,459 -13.3%
Home 4,362 2,358 -45.9% 26,270 26,232 -0.1%
Export 4,642 5,584 20.3% 38,830 30,227 -22.2%
% export 51.6% 70.3% 59.6% 53.5%  

Data courtesy of www.smmt.co.uk

With UK CV manufacturing at half of pre-recession levels, you have to question whether the volume manufacturing sector of the UK’s CV industry will ever seriously recover — or whether we will depend on car manufacturing, which continues to grow, and was up by 7% in July, for our automotive exports.

Škoda Monster Truck Is World’s Biggest Ice Cream Van

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Skoda vRS Ice Cream van

Free ice cream! The world’s largest ice cream van will be coming to an event (or a television screen) near you very soon!

Fancy an ice cream? It’s free, but you’ll need a ladder to get to the counter!

The Škoda vRS giant ice cream van was launched at Great Yarmouth today and is the latest stage in the firm’s marketing campaign to celebrate the launch of the Octavia vRS, which is the fastest Škoda ever. A crack team of Škoda engineers were given the task of bringing the same qualities that go into the car to other everyday objects.

The result is every child’s dream – a giant ice cream van complete with 5 foot monster truck wheels and four mega speakers. Other objects that have already received the vRS treatment include a giant toy ‘trike’, lawnmower with multiple exhaust pipes and flaming go-faster stripes, and the vRS Man-Pram.

The giant ice cream van, which measures over 21 feet, weighs in at a chunky 5.5 tonnes.  It took the team of engineers over 3 weeks to create and stars in the new advert for the Octavia vRS, which hits TV screens on Sunday 25 August.

What is it really?

As this is a van blog, I thought I should try and identify the vehicle behind the giant ice cream van. Naturally, Škoda wasn’t saying, but I reckon I’ve worked it out. Although my first thought was that it was an old Mercedes Unimog, it didn’t look right, and a closer look at the press photo reveals Škoda’s giant ice cream van has a ‘Step Van 30’ badge.

A quick Google later, and I’m fairly sure it’s an American import — a Chevrolet Step Van 30. To show you how they normally look, here’s an example of a road-going Step Van 30 ice cream van.

Where can I see it?

The giant ice cream van will be visiting and serving free ice cream at:

The new advert will feature in commercial breaks during the Premier league matches between Manchester United and Chelsea and between Cardiff City and Manchester City on Sky Sports. The advert will also appear on Channel 4 during the return of BAFTA nominated drama Top Boy as well as on Five during the final Ashes test between England and Australia.

Volkswagen 2013 Brazil T2 Kombi vs 2013 Euro Transporter: Some Things Haven’t Changed

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You may not be able to imagine walking up to your local Volkswagen dealer and ordering a new rear-engined Kombi van like the one pictured below, but if you lived in Brazil, you could.

Volkswagen started producing the Kombi vans in Brazil on 2 September 1957, and is still making them today — making it the longest-produced model in automotive history, according to the firm. However, after 56 years, VW is calling time on the Brazilian T2 Kombi and ceasing production of the model, which is getting a little long in the tooth.

The Kombi Last Edition is a 600-unit special edition model that’s been designed to commemorate the end of Kombi production in Brazil, so to mark the occasion, I thought it would be interesting to compare the current-day Kombi with the model that has since replaced it in Europe, the Transporter T5.

Volkswagen Brazil Kombi vs T5 Transporter

Volkswagen’s Brazil-built T2 Kombi Last Edition alongside a current T5 Transporter Sportline. Hard to believe both vans are in current production!

The Kombi’s 80hp 1.4-litre petrol engine may have a comparable power output to the current base model T5’s 84hp 2.0TDi diesel engine, but the similarity stops there. The present day van offers a whopping 220Nm of peak torque from 1,250-2,500 rpm, whereas the Kombi only offers its 124Nm of peak torque at a fuel-guzzling 3,500rpm.  What’s more, the top of the range T5 offers a jaw-dropping 180hp and 400Nm of torque — figures that couldn’t even be imagined when the Kombi was designed.

The drivetrain changes don’t stop there. While the T5 transmits all of that lovely torque to the front wheels via a slick, modern six or seven-speed gearbox, Kombi drivers have to make do with a somewhat rustic 4-speed gear box and rear-wheel drive.

Fuel economy is not officially specified for the T2 Kombi, but it’s probably fair to assume that this brick-shaped oldster won’t come anywhere near the 37.7 combined mpg figure that Volkswagen specifies for its modern-day sibling.

Long-distance drivers would be well advised to stick with a T5, too — while the modern Transporter can cruise at 70mph all day long, cossetting its occupants in air-conditioned, audio-enhanced luxury, the T2 Kombi has none of these features and will struggle to maintain a solid 70 on the motorway. As a special concession, Volkswagen has pushed the boat out with the specificiation of the Kombi Last Edition, which will include an MP3 sound system “with red LEDs” and auxiliary and USB ports!

Although the Kombi has been hugely popular in Brazil, and its robust simplicity presumably makes it much cheaper and easier to repair than a T5, the T2 isn’t as cheap as you might expect. According to this Autocar review, the T2 Kombis cost £14,800 in Brazil, while T5 Transporters start from £18,085. I’m not sure that’s a big enough discount for such basic technology.

However, there is one area where nothing has changed over the years: practicality. The Kombi’s ability to be both load lugger and people carrier was always one of its defining features and selling points, and this hasn’t changed. Both vans offer a large, flat load area and a sliding door that allows a surprisingly wide range of loads to be carried in the van. Both can be converted into comfortable 9-seaters that are no bigger than a large car, and both can be turned into the compact, flexible campervans that have been the vehicle for so many dream holidays.

The Kombi is a true design classic that has stood the test of time remarkably well. Sadly, the world around it has grown up and got all sophisticated and safe — and much faster moving. I’m not sure it’s more fun, though.