My company car search is over
After many months my company car search is drawing to a close.The lease on my last car, a Volvo S60 D4, expired in April, and since then I've been driving a very functional, but uninspiring Toyota Avensis. The Avensis is on hire, and I was only supposed to have it for a short time, but due to various issues with leasing companies, and the new emissions rules being implemented by manufacturers, getting a final list to choose from took forever.
In the end, I was allowed a car up to £35000, with CO2 of 120 grams or less. The total monthly rental had to be less than £510.
My 1st choice was an Alfa Guila, and despite it falling within most of the criteria, Alfa would not give any discount and the monthly cost was coming in at £560/£600 depending on spec. Despite speaking with the dealer directly and explaining that there were cars on my list £3000 more expensive yet were less than the £510/mth, he wouldn't budge and I had to give up on the Alfa.
I then looked at the 2 BMW's on my list, a 320ED Plus or a 520D SE. I know the 320ED would be the best option financially, but standard BMW's, without any Sports/Styling kit just don't do anything for me. As well as that, I owned a 320D Touring for 12 yrs (sold last month) and found the interior styling had barely changed in that time. I turned my attention to the 520D but once I did, it seemed like every third car I met was a 520D!
Since I really liked my S60, I went back to look at Volvo's. Unfortunately the new S60 is not released yet, and there's no petrol engine available in the new versions. While in the showroom my head was turned by the new V60. The more I researched, the more I liked it, and with them being launched this month, I signed on the dotted line.
Through luck or good timing, the dealer had an unallocated production slot for an early stock vehicle so I've been able to get the exact colour and spec I wanted and only had a 6 week wait.
An added bonus is that I got a call from the dealer this morning and my delivery date has come forward a few days (21st Sept) meaning I'm getting the 1st new version V60 in N.Ireland.
Now it's getting close I'm like a kid waiting for Christmas!! Those V60's are stunning! Which engine is in it and what's the trim level like? I've gone for a D4, 190bhp Momentum Pro. Colour is Pine Grey with Blond (they are Scandinavian after all!) leather.
Plenty of toys including memory seats and mirrors, head-up display, auto tailgate, auto lights and heated wipers (called aquablades data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7), heated seats and steering wheel, plus all the Sensus infotainment and safety stuff.
Only extra's I added was the metallic paint and wheel upgrade. Your company car allowance sounds very similar to mine, quite sad that the Alfa didnt fit in budget as that is what I was hoping to get next year.
Id be interested in how you find the Volvo, they seem very good spec wise and they are different to the VW/Audi/BMW everyone else drives.
Although if I can get a Golf GTE then I think it will top choice purely down to tax reasons. Great choice in my opinion. I've just ordered a V90 Cross Country T5 and can't wait. Has it arrived? Yes, picked it up last Friday. Loving it so far. The problem with the Alfa is that the RVs are so low. Leasing companies are just not keen on them.
I loved my V50 - except for the button layout on the centre console. It never got to be intuitive as to which button to press in 4 years and 120k of driving! I had the previous version S60 which probably had the same button layout as your V50. I didn't mind it, and found it easy enough to use, but the new versions have stripped back on most of those buttons and everything is now handled either by voice control (which generally works well but I'm still learning the commands), or the large Sensus screen which once setup is simple to use.
I took the car for it's first long distance drive earlier this week. 400 mile round trip that averaged 50.3 mpg. Seating as expected is very comfortable and the various driver aids made for a very relaxing journey.
I'm still getting used to the light show at night! There's so much going on automatically with the lights that at first I didn't know what was going on. The real test is how many cars flash you, and so far there's been none, so they work well not just for the driver, but also other road users. My previous car had an automatic beam but it was next to useless as it never dipped early enough and I was constantly getting flashed by other drivers. So much so that I disabled that function.
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