Author Archives: Van Rental

Hertz opens new van rental supersites in Glasgow and West Thurrock

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Hertz Van Supersite GlasgowHertz has added two more van rental supersites to its UK network, taking the total number of supersites to 20 and improving the firm’s ability to service business and retail hire customers.

The new supersites are in Glasgow and West Thurrock. As I’ve written before, Hertz van supersites support both standard and bespoke hire requirements — a service aimed at providing customised long-term hire vans to business customers.

The super size of these sites means that stock levels are far higher than traditional rental locations — the West Thurrock supersite, located just off the M25 to the east of London, can hold 1,300 vans, while the Glasgow supersite can hold 1,000.

Commenting on the new supersites, Neil Cunningham, General Manager, Hertz UK, said:

“Our flexible van rental service helps customers focus on growing their businesses efficiently by removing the financial commitment of purchasing a fleet and by saving them the administrative headache of insurance, breakdown cover, maintenance, servicing, and road tax. We’re seeing an increasing number of businesses opting for commercial vehicle rental as an alternative to ownership.”

Hertz’s standard range of small, medium, long wheelbase and luton vans are available at both locations, as are more specialist vehicles including minibuses (up to 17 seats), crew cab vans, tippers and dropsides. Pick-ups and 4x4s are also available.

For more location on Hertz van rental or to find your nearest Hertz Van Supersite, visit the Hertz website.

For a full list of Hertz UK van hire locations, click here.

One-off Volkswagen Amarok ambulance is star performer in East Midlands

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The East Midlands is a busy, densely populated area of the UK — but it also includes the Peak District and some of England’s most demanding rural areas,  where severe weather, snow and a network of unclassified roads can make access difficult for regular ambulances in winter.

To address this problem, Volkswagen has worked with the East Midlands Ambulance Service to create a one-off off-road ambulance, based on VW’s Amarok pick-up.

East Midlands Ambulance Service VW Amarok ambulance

The Volkswagen Group Emergency Services team designed and commissioned the build of the new response vehicle.

In addition to all the usual Amarok standard features, such as 4MOTION four-wheel drive and the ability to drive through water up to 500mm deep, the one-off ambulance is equipped with life-saving medical equipment and a load area designed to allow safe transportation of patients.

Commenting on the project, Chris Black, Head of Fleet at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK, said:

“Our Volkswagen Group Emergency Services team worked hand-in-hand with the client to develop a unique vehicle including securing all of the necessary type approval. Now in service, the vehicle is already beginning to receive a great deal of interest and I am sure that we can expect to see similar Amarok ambulances in the future.”

I suspect there will be more demand — even the most remote parts of the Peak District are no more difficult to access than a number of other rural areas of the UK, so if the Amarok adds value here there’s a good chance that emergency service buyers in other areas might take a closer look.

Indeed, in a seperate release recently, I noticed that the NHS Highland Estates, the organisation responsible for looking after NHS facilities throughout the Scottish Highlands, recently took delivery of an Amarok pick-up and a VW Transporter 4MOTION. The Amarok ambulance could be an ideal addition to the Scottish Ambulance Service fleet.

Northwich van rental: Cheshire Country Van Hire

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Cheshire County Van HireIf you’re looking for van hire in and around the Northwich area of Cheshire, then our newest advertiser may be able to help.

Cheshire Country Van Hire is based at Winnington Business Park in Winnington, close to Northwich.

A collection and delivery service is available, and Cheshire County offers a range of vans that should meet most requirements, and are especially suited to DIY home removals:

  • Short wheelbase panel vans
  • Long wheelbase panel vans
  • Extra-long wheelbase panel vans
  • 3.5t luton box vans with tail lifts
  • 7.5t box lorries

For more details or to get an online quote, contract Cheshire Country van hire directly:

If you’d like to promote your van or minibus rental business on vanrental.co.uk, check out our advertising options.

Wigan van and minibus rental: Easirent.com Car and Van Hire

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Easirent.com logoHaving recently added Easirent’s branch in Preston to vanrental.co.uk, I’m delighted to add a second Easirent branch, in Wigan, to our database.

Easirent Wigan offers the same competitive selection of vans and minibuses as the firm’s Preston branch.

Vans:

  • Small vans (e.g. Peugeot Partner)
  • Medium vans (e.g. Ford Transit SWB w/ medium roof)
  • Long wheelbase vans (e.g. Ford Transit LWB w/ high roof)
  • Extra-long wheelbase vans (e.g. Volkswagen Crafter w/ high roof)
  • Luton tail lift vans (e.g. Ford Transit luton)
  • Crew cab tipper vans (e.g. Ford Transit crew cab)
  • Dropside vans (e.g. Ford Transit flatbed/dropside with single cab)
  • Crew cab panel vans (e.g. Ford Transit crewbus)
  • 7.5t box lorries with tail lift (e.g. Iveco 7.5t w/ 20ft box)

Minibuses:

  • 7-seater MPV (e.g. Ford Galaxy)
  • 9-seater (e.g. Volkswagen Shuttle)

Easirent’s van and minibus fleet should satisfy most requirements, and it’s worth noting that a range of no-nonsense extras are also available to hire, including sat navs, baby/child/booster seats and even mobile phones!

Easirent Wigan is located on at 44 Queen Street, Wigan, WH3 4HX. To find out more or get a quote, contact Easirent Wigan direct:

  • Easirent.com (online chat and quote available)
  • Tel: 01942 77 88 99

If you’d like to promote your van or minibus rental business on vanrental.co.uk, check out our advertising options.

Winter offer: Europcar van hire from just £16 per day [EXPIRED]

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Europcar winter van hire from £16 per day

Although the weather seems to have warmed up slightly, winter is still with us — and to help you save money during the cold season, Europcar is currently offering van hire from just £16 per day.

This is a generous and long-running offer that’s available on bookings made by 29 March 2015 for checkouts until 30 June 2015 (some dates excluded, see website for details).

Europcar is one of the most flexible van hire firms around, too — hourly van hire, one-way van hire and overnight options are all available.

All Europcar rental vans includes 24-hour roadside assistance, and a choice of short wheelbase, long wheelbase and luton box vans with tail lift are available — ideal for small moves or big DIY jobs!

** THIS OFFER HAS NOW EXPIRED **

 

Terms & conditions apply, see Europcar website for details.

Small van, big grip: Citroën Nemo now available with Grip Control

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Citroën Nemo

The Citroën Nemo is now available with a Grip Control pack

Modern traction control systems mean that old-school mechanical diff locks and four-wheel drive systems are only really necessary on serious off road vehicles.

Drivers looking for a little more grip on slippery surfaces and soft-road conditions, such as unsurfaced tracks, can choose to have a little extra electronic wizardry injected into their vehicles, instead.

The principle is simple: regular traction control systems work by cutting power and/or braking individual wheels when they sense that one or more wheels has lost traction — is skidding or spinning.

By extending this principle, traction control can be used to simulate the effect of a mechanical differential lock (a device that forces both wheels on an axle to rotate at the same speed). That’s the principle behind Grip Control, a system that’s available as an option on a number of Peugeot and Citroën vehicles.

Citroën announced today that a Grip Control option pack will now be available on its Nemo van.

The Citroën Nemo Grip Control pack will cost £630 +VAT and will include:

 

  • Intelligent Traction Control
  • Raised suspension
  • 185/65 R15 tyres
  • Under engine protection tray
  • Front & rear mud flaps
  • Door sill protection & deeper side rubbing strips
  • Washable cab floor covering

The resulting van should be suitable for light off-road use — and if fitted with winter or all-season tyres, should be awesome in snow and ice conditions.

 

Mercedes-Benz launches Citan Sport

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Mercedes-Benz Citan Sport vanHigh-specification sports vans have become popular in recent years, thanks in part to the step change in performance and sophistication that makes today’s vans so easy and pleasant to drive — and quite stylish at the same time.

Although models such as the Mercedes Vito Sport-X do provide additional performance, the Sports moniker is usually more about styling and specification levels than outright horsepower.

The newly launched Mercedes-Benz Citan Sport appears to fit into this category.

The Citan Sport is available on long wheelbase panel van models of the Citan, with both 109CDI and 111CDI engines, and features a generous specification level. Highlights include a choice of six metallic paints, colour-coded bumpers, wing mirrors and tail-light trim and 16-inch multispoke light alloy wheels.

There’s also air conditioning as standard (still surprisingly rare on vans), a leather-trimmed steering wheel, Sport mats and badging, daytime driving lights, and chrome trim elements, such as front grille, sidebars and tailgate trim.

The Citan Sport is now available from £199 per month and includes a three-year unlimited mileage warranty, MobiloVan UK, which keeps drivers and passengers mobile in the event of a breakdown or warranty repair taking more than two hours, as well as Mercedes’ Service24h roadside assistance service.

Van rental firm counts on Ford for ongoing growth

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T.O.M. Vehicle Rental Ford vansT.O.M. Vehicle Rental has seen remarkable growth over the last five years, growing from 1,500 on one site to 8.500 vehicles across seven sites.

Serving customers from sites in Manchester, Nottingham and Scotland, T.O.M. has added increasing numbers of Ford vans to its fleet in recent years.

T.O.M. has ordered more than 1,000 Ford vans over the last year, and the hire firm’s latest order was for 330 new model Ford Transits, which T.O.M. says is the current van of choice among many of its customers. Ford vans now account for 35% of the firm’s fleet.

James Rafferty, T.O.M.’s group sales and operations director, says that the firm buying is influenced by customer preferences and requirements:

“We adapt to what our rental customers want. We find out what they are planning to do with a vehicle to ensure we provide them with the right one.

“Ford has a great range, from small vans to large, so there is something for everyone, and our customers like them. Ford is a manufacturer which stands by its products, which gives us peace of mind, with ease of maintenance a key strength of the Transit range.”

As a long-time Transit fan myself, I’m not surprised by the success of the marque’s sophisticated all-new van range and am looking forward to getting a chance to drive the new ‘big’ Transit in the near future.

Van-based Vito Taxi offers big advantages over traditional black cab

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Mercedes-Benz Vito London Taxi

London cabbie Mike Fleischmann has just taken delivery of his second Vito Taxi

The van-based Mercedes-Benz Vito Tax is gaining a growing following amongst the demanding ranks of London’s black cab drivers, thanks to the superior mix of comfort, space, sophistication and fuel consumption it offers in comparison to the classic but dated black cab.

Thanks to its innovative turning rear axle the Vito Taxi conforms to Transport for London Conditions of Fitness and can seat six adults, one more than its traditional competitor.

Standard technical equipment includes the Adaptive ESP stability programme, Parktronic with visual and audible aids, and Speedtronic with cruise control and variable speed limiter.

Mike Fleischmann, who has been driving London cabs for 31 years, is a convinced advocate of the Mercedes-Benz Vito Taxi:

“It’s a ‘chalk and cheese’ comparison,” he enthused. “The Vito is a wonderful, premium quality vehicle and passengers invariably appreciate its comfort and extra space.

“From the cabbie’s point of view, meanwhile, its extra sophistication gives rise to a smoother, more relaxed driving style than you’d employ in an ordinary taxi – no-one drives like a lunatic in a Vito Taxi.

“The fuel consumption is definitely better too, while the after sales back-up is unbelievable; in the event that you’re unlucky enough to suffer a breakdown you make one call and someone comes along to sort you out. Fantastic!”

Vito Taxi owners also benefit from a comprehensive three-year/150,000 mile warranty, service intervals of up to 24,000 miles and free Service24h emergency roadside assistance as standard.

Ambulance service trials solar panels to aid fuel consumption

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WMAS Fiat Ducato Maxi ambulance

One of WMAS’s new Fiat Ducato Maxi ambulances

Ambulances need a lot of electricity: indeed, with the latest models carrying approximately one mile of electrical wiring and an extensive range of extra electrical equipment, it has long been standard practice to fit uprated alternators to ambulances. This ensures that the electrical load can be met at all times and that battery charge is maintained at healthy levels.

However, alternators don’t magic electricity out of thin air — they are engine-driven, and extra electrical load means extra fuel consumption, especially when idling or running at low speeds.

To try and address this problem and reduce both the carbon footprint and the fuel bills generated by its ambulances, without sacrificing performance, the West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) is about to begin trialling solar panels on five of its newest vehicles.

The trial vehicles are part of a 101-vehicle order for new front-line ambulances, all of which will be based on the Fiat Ducator Maxi panel van, plated at 4,250kg gross vehicle weight.

Inside WMAS Fiat Ducato ambulance

Inside one of the new WMAS Fiat Ducato ambulances

Ambulances are fairly heavily loaded at all times, and the use of the Maxi chassis — which has uprated suspension and larger wheel sizes — will help provide a more robust and stable ambulance platform, without sacrificing the cost and maneuverability advantages offered by the choice of a panel van rather than box body.

The vans are long wheelbase, extra-high roof models powered by Fiat’s 3.0-litre 180bhp diesel engine, and have air suspension fitted to further aid ride stability under emergency conditions.

WMAS has been operating the FIAT Ducato in front line ambulance operation for a number of years and by the time the last of the 101 new units are delivered, two thirds of its entire ambulance fleet (240 of 360 vehicles) will be Fiat Ducato based.

According to Tony Page, General Manager Fleet Services with West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust:

“The Ducato provides the Trust with a platform to build a front line ambulance that provides a good working space for our clinical colleagues to deliver a high level of patient care, the 3.0 diesel engine is more than capable of getting the vehicle and crew to serious incidents in a timely manner, good dealer support and fuel economy are also an important aspect of the FIAT Ducato’s offering.

Early signs with the first 40 units of the latest model Ducato in operation are they are step change improvement for us, feedback from our crews so far has been very positive.”

The choice of the Ducato Maxi is an interesting variation from the more commonly specified 5-tonne Mercedes-Benz Sprinter box body ambulance conversion preferred by many ambulance services — almost without a doubt the Ducato panel van is far cheaper option, so it will be interesting to see how much of a foothold it gains elsewhere in the UK.