Author Archives: Van Rental

Charities Weigh In To Biofuels Debate

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A leading charity has joined the calls by top scientists for compulsory EU biofuel targets to be reconsidered.

Barbara Stocking, CEO of Oxfam GB said that “Recent estimates suggest that increased demand for biofuels accounts for 30% of recent food price rises, while mounting scientific evidence shows biofuels are having an overall negative impact on climate change.”

The UK government has already promised to review their target of making 5% of transport fuels biofuel within two years. However, the EU has continued discussing even more ambitious targets – despite the widespread evidence that the carbon footprint of biofuels can be larger than that of fossil fuels.

Stocking said that “the urgent review of compulsory biofuels targets in rich countries to stop their inflationary impact” was “a priority”.

I’ve been writing articles on the unwanted side effects of increased biofuel use for some months now and over that time the case has only got stronger. Environmentalists, poverty campaigners and scientists all agree that we need to take a step back and look at the bigger impact of biofuels.

So what does the EU do? Plough onwards with plans to make increased use of biofuels compulsory…

European Van Hire from Admiral Self Drive Van Hire

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European van hire – taking a hire van from the UK to mainland Europe and back – is an increasingly common practice. A few of the more popular reasons for crossing the Channel in a rental van are:

Here at vanrental.co.uk, Birmingham is our second most popular van hire search location.  Admiral Self Drive Van HireWalsall-based Admiral Self Drive Van Hire are perfectly positioned for both Birmingham and Walsall customers and are also one of the few companies in the area who offer a comprehensive European van hire service.

Admiral have a wide range of vans and minibuses available for European use. These Include Transits, VW Transporters, Mercedes Sprinter 4.3m long-wheelbase hi-tops and Mercedes-Benz Lutons with tail lifts. Admiral also have specially built 950cu.ft mini furniture removal vans (pretty much the biggest possible 3.5 tonne vans). All rental vans can be driven on standard car licence.

To ensure that your European trip is as stress free as possible, Admiral also provide comprehensive European RAC rescue and recovery cover. European driving insurance and documentation is arranged at no extra cost and there are no additional charges for extra drivers.

Admiral are ideally located for most of the West Midlands, just off Junction 10 of the M6.

If you’ve got any questions about Admiral’s European van rental service or would like a quotation, you can call them free on 0800 197 8875. For details of their vans, check out their website here.

New Van News from Smith Electric Vehicles, Fiat & Vauxhall

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The last few weeks have seen an interesting range of new vans come to market in the UK. Here’s a run down of what’s new to the market.

Smith Electric Vehicles

British company Smith Electric Vehicles have emerged as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of all-electric vehicles over the last few years.

Their Ford Transit-based Edison has proved especially popular with urban and other low-mileage users and they have now announced a new, smaller van, the Ampere, to complement it. The Ampere is based on the hugely popular Ford Transit Connect so should be equally successful.

The Ampere has an 800kg payload, a 100 mile range and a top speed of 70mph.

Fiat

Alongside the launch of Fiat‘s new small van, the Fiorino (the same vehicle as the Peugeot Bipper/Citroen Nemo), the company have also launched their ‘BforB’ range – Built for Business. This is a range of pre-built chassis van models such as tippers, Lutons, box vans and crew cabs which can be ordered directly from the dealer.

Fiat aren’t the first manufacturer to do this. Companies such as Renault and Vauxhall are already offering similar deals and they are proving to be popular – not least due to extremely fast delivery times. Fiat claim that a completed van can be delivered in two weeks, which is pretty fast.

Vauxhall

Finally, Vauxhall have added a new factory conversion to its existing range, this time based on the Movano van.

The Movano Luton offers a payload of 1,385kg and 17.2 cubic metres of load space – quite big, even for a Luton. It’s one of the current crop of streamlined lutons, where the overcab area is curved to reduce wind resistance and help fuel efficiency. It does however reduce quite how much can be carried in this area, although for most users it’s not a big issue.

The Movano Luton comes with Vauxhall’s 2.5CDTi engine which can be specified at 100bhp, 120bhp or 146bhp ratings. The van and its aluminium Luton body are covered by Vauxhall’s three-year/100,000 mile manufacturer’s warranty and can be ordered directly from Vauxhall dealers.

Medium Panel Van Buyers Guide

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Warm on the heels of their recent small van buyers guide, the good people at Fleet News have now published a medium panel van buyers guide, which provides an overview of all of the major contenders in this popular sector of the market.

These vans generally have a gross vehicle weight (GVW) between 2.5 and 3.0 tonnes (except the VW Transporter, which also comes in a 3.2t version).

Vans covered in the buyers guide are:

  • Citroen Dispatch
  • Fiat Scudo
  • Ford Transit
  • Mercedes-Benz Vito
  • Nissan Primastar
  • Peugeot Expert
  • Renault Trafic
  • Vauxhall Vivaro
  • Volkswagen Transporter

You can see the full guide here.

Citroen Nemo vs. Peugeot Bipper (+New Partner & Berlingo)

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It’s all change on the small van front this summer. Peugeot and Citroen are going head to head with two major new models, the Berlingo/Partner and the Nemo/Bipper.

I list them like that because they are of course competing against each other with the same vehicles – all Peugeot and Citroen vans (and most Fiats) are the product of PSA, so the only difference is badging and sometimes engine options.

Needless to say, the new Berlingo-Partner is bigger than the vehicle it replaces – although the current model will continue to be sold as the Berlingo First and Partner Origin. It’s still a great no-frills, economical van and will no doubt continue to sell well, especially in these increasingly budget-concious times.

The Bipper – Nemo is a smaller van, fitting between a hatchback like the 207 Van and the Berlingo. Here’s a picture of a Peugeot Bipper:

Peugeot Bipper van

It will have an impressive payload of 610kg, 2.5 cubic metres of load space and a neat overall length of just 3.86m. All of these features no doubt contributed to it winning the 2008 Fleet World ‘Best New Van’ Award and it should be a success, as should its Citroen-badged twin brother, the Citroen Nemo (see the similarities?):

Citroen Nemo van

For more details on all of these new models, see the excellent round up on the Fleet News site.

Green Motion Supports Green Education

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vanrental.co.uk advertiser Green Motion is helping primary school children in Oxford to learn about environmental issues through their sponsorship of Oxford City Council’s ‘Greenvision’ programme.

Green Motion, which has a branch in Oxford, is a car and van hire company specialising in environmentally-friendly vehicle hire. Energy saving, recycling and pollution control are core parts of their business strategy and Max Jacobs, owner of Green Motion’s Oxford branch, says that “it’s great to be able to actively support local education” – especially when it promotes environmental issues.

To learn more about Green Motion or book a green hire van or car, visit www.greenmotion.co.uk.

Record Rise For Diesel Prices – But What Next?

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In my last article about fuel prices, I highlighted just how much of the pump price goes to the Treasury.

I’m afraid that this time the news is equally bad!

May has seen the highest rise in diesel prices ever recorded, according to the latest fuel price report from the AA.

Diesel rose by an average of 6.76p per litre from 117.41p to 124.17p between mid-April and mid-May. This means that the 68 litre fuel tank on my Transit now costs an extra £4.60 to fill up. For vehicles with a smaller 50 litre tank, the cost of a tank full of diesel is up by £3.38.

Most of this increase has taken place in the first half of May, but it is interesting to see how the price differences between supermarket garages and non-supermarket garages have grown. Supermarket garages are now an average of 2.5 pence per litre cheaper for petrol and a surprising 4p per litre for diesel.

Surprising to me, anyway! The pump prices at my local Sainsbury and Morrisons are pretty much the same price as the Shell garage I usually use, although some other local forecourts are more expensive than the supermarkets.

Unsurprisingly, London is still the most expensive place to buy fuel and Yorkshire & Humberside the cheapest.

As the AA comments, the most worrying aspect of this is that the rise in oil prices appears to be primarily the result of speculative investors putting money into oil in an attempt to make a quick buck from the rising prices.

The old ‘rising demand, limited supply’ argument is being trotted out by those with vested interests, but the facts appear to suggest that increased demand for oil is not the real culprit (remember when people were saying that house prices had to rise because there weren’t enough houses?).

I’m going to stick my neck out and predict that oil prices will start to fall in the next six months – but I will also predict that petrol and diesel prices won’t fall as far…

Anyone care to disagree?

Van & Minibus Hire in Reading: New Branch

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We are very pleased to welcome Practical Car & Van Rental in Caversham, Reading, to the  Practical Car & Van Rental Readingvanrental.co.uk van hire directory.

Practical are based on Ardler Road, in Caversham, which is to the north of Reading city centre. They are a national chain with more than 150 van, minibus and car hire locations throughout the UK.

Practical’s Reading branch covers the Theale, Wargrave, Whitchurch, Wokingham, Henley, Sandhurst and Purley areas and can provide a ‘meet and greet’ service at local railway and coach stations if required.

A wide range of hire vans and minibuses are available for hire from Practical in Reading, including:

  • Short, medium and long wheelbase panel vans (e.g. Ford Transit, Mercedes Sprinter)
  • Small vans (e.g. Vauxhall Combo, Citroen Berlingo)
  • Luton vans (with and without tail lifts)
  • 7.5 tonne trucks
  • 9, 12, 15 and 17 seat minibuses

A full range of hire cars are also available.

Practical pride themselves on providing a flexible service and one-way van hire is available to most of their other hire locations in the UK. It’s also possible to arrange one-way hire to most major airports and many other locations.

1979 Ford Escort van RS2000 conversion

Is There A Maximum Age for Van Hire? We Reveal All…

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1979 Ford Escort van RS2000 conversion

All information on this page was believed to be correct as of January 2018.  

Age restrictions and extra fees for younger rental drivers aren’t much of a surprise – “it’s the insurance”, we all say.

It’s less well known that many of the same restrictions apply to older drivers, too. Especially anyone over 75.

Even though a great many people aged 70+ are still perfectly fit and able to drive, it seems that the insurers who cover van hire companies aren’t very keen on older drivers, believing they pose an extra risk.

I’ve found maximum age restrictions from 65 to 75 – with various ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ thrown in to the mix to keep us all confused.

To help anyone who is looking to hire a van and happens to be over 70, I’ve put together a league table of the maximum age limits operated by van hire companies offering national coverage (click here for minimum age limits):

1. National

Top of the league is National Van Rental with an upper age limit of 99!

2. Enterprise

Enterprise van hireIn joint first place is Enterprise. According to their website:

“There is no maximum age limit when renting with Enterprise.”

3. Sixt

Sixt also keeps it straightforward. There is no upper age limit for vehicle hire.

4. Europcar

Europcar van hireEuropcar has no maximum age limit, except at Plymouth, Exeter, Taunton, Pembroke, Carmarthen and York branches, where the maximum age limit is 75 years old (correct as of 29th January 2018).

5. Thrifty

Thrifty Car & Van RentalThrifty’s position is a little more complicated, according to their website. Their “standard insurance age range is 25-70.”

Anyone aged 71-75 should be able to hire a van, as long as they don’t have any medical conditions that are prohibited by Thrifty’s insurer.

Anyone aged 76 upwards probably won’t be able to rent from Thrifty unless they were previously a customer before they were 76, in which case Thrifty say that they: “may be able to help you as a re-renter, but we will need to refer this to our insurer.”

6. Arnold Clark Car & Van Rental

Arnold Clark is an interesting one. They say:

 Drivers over 75 will be asked to provide medical proof that they are fit to drive.

7. Avis

Avis keeps it pretty simple. There is no upper age limit for vehicle rental.

8. Budget

Budget logoBudget’s standard age range appears to be 25-75. Although Budget informed us there is no standard upper age limit for van hire, we’ve heard some locations might have a restriction / need notification if you’re over 75  – it’s worth checking with the specific branch before you book. 

To learn more about rules and restrictions applying to van hire, see our “Van Hire Age / Licence Guidelines” page.

Disclaimer: vanrental.co.uk accepts no liability for any damages or losses suffered as a result of errors or omissions in the information provided on this page.

TNT Goes Electric With New Urban Fleet

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This week saw TNT announce an order for 100 Smith Electric Vehicles Newton delivery trucks. The vehicles will be put TNT Smith Electric Vehicle - Newton into use on urban routes and the vehicles will have a gross weight of 7.5 tonnes – territory currently occupied by diesel-powered vehicles.

The electric vehicles are part of TNT’s ‘Planet Me’ green initiative and offer a number of environmental and economic benefits – including zero road tax and  London Congestion Charge exemption. TNT believes that when all 100 are in operation, they will reduce the company’s CO2 emissions by 1,300 tonnes annually.

The Newtons should also prove cheaper to fuel than their diesel equivalents – and given that TNT’s fleet of 1,950 commercial vehicles and 930 cars slurped a massive £24.83m worth of diesel last year, I guess every little helps!

The vehicles are the first ever 7.5t class lorries that can offer comparable performance to diesel equivalents an maintain zero emissions. The trucks cost just 7p/mile in electricity costs and have a range of 70 miles and a maximum speed of 50mph – ideal for urban delivery work.

According to Tom Bell, Managing Director of TNT Express Services UK & Ireland, the economic argument is as compelling as the environmental case: “On average it costs just £40-a-week to power a zero emission vehicle as opposed to around £200 spent on diesel fuel. The electric vehicles are also exempt from the London congestion charge – approximately £1,750 a year – and do not incur road tax in the UK.”

TNT’s Smith Electric Vehicles will be going into service in locations around the UK – including London, Basildon, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Durham, Edinburgh, Enfield, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Luton, Northampton, Oxford, Paisley, Preston and Wolverhampton.