Citroen Van Site
Vans are proving to be the best choices for a motor vehicle, especially for those having an expanding or a huge family. They can also be beneficial for those having a number of items for carting around regularly. Used Citroen vans are especially popular amongst companies wanting a pre-decided monthly expenditure, as against those needing big one-off payments to 'Part With'.
The most economical option
Van leasing has been looked upon as a superb option for the people feeling that need of van is urgent for them, for commercial or personal use. Van leasing implies the company or individual renting van for some predefined time period for a monthly payment which is already set. This continues till the expiry of the lease. There are a number of advantages of van leasing. At the same time, there are also some disadvantages. These need to be taken into consideration prior to deciding on leasing of van.
Advantages
Amongst the greatest advantages of van leasing traces the fact that no huge payment is due initially, i.e. at the starting of leasing period. At the starting, only deposit is due. However, this payment is usually small. It sums up to around 1, 2, or 3 of monthly payments during lease period. Monthly installments relating to van leasing have also been quite less as compared to those involved in buying of a new van. This system not only saves a lot of money of individual or the company involved in van leasing but can make leasing pleasurable in terms of driving van of individual's choice. Of Course, this applies for a short-term only.
Van leasing permits the individual of giving up the van after having driven it for around 2 years. In such cases, the individual is likely to consider his van outdated or might just not wish to continue with the van which has been used day in day out. Once the period of leasing gets completed, the van can simply be returned by the individual to leasing company. He can then make an entry into new lease, towards a fresh van.
Disadvantages
Having discussed all the advantages, it's imperative to discuss the disadvantages of van leasing as well. The greatest one amongst those states that the individual never gets to own the van by this way. It remains the leasing company's property-always! The other disadvantage of van leasing states that calculating annual mileage, along with other charges can prove to be difficult. Any of the leased vans are bound to have pre-decided miles which can be gathered on them. If the 'Number of Miles' tends to exceed this number, charges can go upwards to a great extent. For averting this, it's essential to carry out the calculation of mileage accurately. Miscalculating might result into paying heavy charges. These charges can be beyond the imaginations of company or individual.
Other charges likely to be included through a lease are the damages caused to the van. Though these expenses are generally incurred by the owner, minor damages have to be repaired by the individual only.
By Raven Smith.
Visit the Blog about citroen spareCitroen C-Crosser
I thought I was well abreast of the gap between reality and PR spin in the motoring industry. I am used to being told that unsporting cars are exceedingly sporty and that cars designed for SainsburyÕs are fun to drive and full of emotion.
To me and most who do this job, itÕs just another form of white noise that accompanies most product launches and can be mentally tuned out while you wait in the usually forlorn hope that theyÕll tell you something you havenÕt read in the press pack.
But with this, the C-Crosser, Citro‘n has taken the reality gap and stretched it so so wide that no suspension of disbelief, willing or otherwise, can bridge it. For this is a car which, we were told without the merest hint of irony, is Ņa pure Citro‘n productÓ with ŅCitro‘n DNAÓ running through it. It is nothing of the sort.
The C-Crosser is, in fact, not a Citro‘n in any conventional sense save the badge on its bonnet. This Ņpure Citro‘n productÓ is a Mitsubishi, designed, engineered and built in Japan.
And as for the DNA, not only does it contain none of the quirky design touches that have distinguished key Citro‘ns throughout the companyÕs history, it is an SUV, a genre noted for its absence from the Citro‘n lineup ever since it hit the market.
True, the new car does have a 2.2 litre diesel engine used in other Citro‘ns and Peugeots, while the Mitsubishi on which it is based, the Outlander, uses an inferior VW unit, and yes it has been given its own nose and detail changes to the rear styling so it doesnÕt look exactly like an Outlander. But none of this makes it a Citro‘n any more than dressing up like Elvis and slapping on some sideburns makes you the King.
The pity is this sort of nonsense threatens to cloud the fact that what Citro‘n has been able to lay its hands on is a pretty capable and impressive machine. At £22,790 for the VTR+ model and £25,490 for the Exclusive version I drove, itÕs not cheap, but IÕd place it a step ahead of most cars that could be called competitors.
Sensibly, it recognises that people are increasingly buying cars such as this not to go yomping through the jungle but as something that works like an MPV or an estate without the homespun image. And in these roles it does well.
The fact that its third row of seats is fiddly to raise and lower and will accommodate only children is dwarfed by the fact that these seats exist at all: you wonÕt find them in a Land Rover Freelander 2, Toyota RAV4 or BMW X3. It has a split tailgate to provide a weatherproof vantage point or simply somewhere for children to change muddy wellies or football boots. The middle row of seats doesnÕt merely fold, it slides and reclines too.
And itÕs fair that Citro‘n takes a share of the credit for the refined and punchy motor under the bonnet. The VW equivalent in the Outlander is not only 10% less powerful, it sounds like a hardware store being fed through a blender. In contrast the 156bhp Citro‘n engine is smooth and flexible while offering reasonable fuel consumption and emissions. Sadly no automatic is available and the standard (Mitsubishi) six-speed gearbox is a little rubbery and obstructive.
The C-Crosser rides and handles surprisingly well, too. Citro‘n claims to have had some influence over Mitsubishi in the choice of suspension settings for the car (though the architecture itself is all MitsubishiÕs). It has a strong appetite for the open road, steers notably well and can be switched between two and four-wheel drive on the move. And if all you want to do is cruise, its all-round independent suspension and muted noise levels make light and comfortable work of long journeys.
ItÕs not an off-roader in traditional terms, but with reasonable ground clearance and the ability to lock up its four-wheel-drive system, it should have no problem extricating itself from muddy fields at sports day, a point-to-point or a country wedding, which, frankly, is all almost anyone is going to ask of it.
Inside, however, it is less successful, particularly when you consider the steep pricing points Citro‘n has chosen for it. Almost all the interior plastics are hard, scratchy and have no place in a car costing so much Š you can spend less and have an Audi A6.
The instruments are unattractive, the steering wheel lacks reach adjustment (an extraordinary omission these days), which compromises your driving position, and the sat nav that is standard on the top of the range car provided such dreadful graphics and proved so useless at navigating me through the Pyrenees that I seriously question its value.
I also question the carÕs positioning in the market: Citro‘n has always been aware that value is an integral part of its brand, yet it is charging big money for this car while Mitsubishi will sell it Š albeit with a considerably less pleasing engine Š for less than £20,000.
Even so, the C-Crosser is good enough to deserve to succeed. Whether it does is another matter. People are used to Citro‘n hatchbacks and Citro‘n MPVs but the evidence is that when Citro‘n wanders into a market where its face is less familiar, life can be tough.
Even Xavier Duchemin, the managing director of Citro‘n UK, admitted that sales of its big C6 saloon were disappointing. Clearly his marketing men are going to have to work hard to acclimatise the car-buying public to the idea of a Citro‘n SUV.
Perhaps they should exploit the fact that Mitsubishi is, in contrast, one of the biggest and longest established names in the SUV world and rename the C-Crosser with a view to describing it a shade more honestly and accurately. IÕve come up with the Citro‘n-Mitsubishi Cross Dresser. If youÕve got a better idea, perhaps youÕd let us know.
By Andrew Frankel.
