If you’re accustomed to thinking of the Civic as a worthy but rather dull specimen, it’s time to think again. The redesigned, relaunched Civic is a style stunner and an excellent all-rounder. The new look makes a radical and classy break with the old: this car really turns heads for all the right reasons. With an intelligently designed ergonomic cabin, you’ll feel indulged with space, even though every cubic centimetre has been carefully calculated.

The 1.4 litre petrol model is agreeable but not especially exciting; the larger petrol, however, is much more impressive, with a snarling, thrusting i-VTEC to boost your enthusiasm. And the 2.2 diesel easily outdoes its petrol counterpart in performance. All models have an impressive, high-quality sturdiness about them and are pleasingly responsive on the road.

On a practical note, the passenger space is impressively generous and, for a car of its size, the boot space is huge – easily 100 litres greater than either the Vauxhall Astra or the VW Golf. The one drawback is the restricted headspace for rear-seat passengers due to the sloping curve of the roof; but the car looks ravishing and this is hardly a major defect. Honda has a well-deserved reputation for high quality and solid reliability, and the new Civic looks set to more than honour this. It’s relatively cheap to insure, too.

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Possibly even more stylish than a BMW, the Alfa Romeo 159 improves on the model it replaces (the 156) in just about every respect. With its subtly sporty lines, the 159 is cunningly more spacious and comfortable than the 156 (although, as with most saloons, you’ll feel a little cramped in the back if you’re in there for any length of time); the boot gives you a more than generous 405 litres of room for your luggage or weekly trip to the supermarket. 

You’ll get a charmingly smooth drive, too, on most roads, although it might pummel your derriere just a little on bumpy surfaces. If you’re after high performance, you’ll only truly get it if you go for the top of the range – the magnificent 260 bhp, 3.2-litre V6. It drives like a dream, but it’s 250kg heavier (that’s at least three average-sized people) than the fours.

The delectable 159 diesels are comparable, though. At the basic end of the scale, the 140 bhp, 1.8-litre Tourismo hits a modest 62 mph in 10.6 seconds. If you still want to release your inner Lewis Hamilton, this will be a little disappointing. But if you just want to get from A to B in style and relative comfort, it’ll fit the bill just fine. The steering on all in the series is superb and, combined with the vibrant chassis, you’ll feel you’re driving a much faster car.

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Leasing is one good way to get into a brand new Hyundai car. There are several ways to get one without overspending. Through Hyundai leasing, you can instantly drive away a new car without any difficulties and worries.

Hyundai leasing offers many car models on a contract hire, personal contract purchase, personal contract hire, and simple leasing contract. Maintenance is also offered on all Hyundai cars and vans. These vehicles are directly supplied from Hyundai dealers with manufacturer warranties and best deal prices. By leasing a Hyundai vehicle, you will be able to save money and beat depreciation.

This is similar to a long-term rental that includes maintenance and service, and a replacement vehicle when necessary. The payments are subject to VAT, which can be 50% reclaimed for cars and 100% reclaimed for commercial vehicles. The monthly payment is computed starting from the contract length and the approximate miles driven. At the end of the lease, the car is returned to the leasing company. For companies, leasing is often considered as “off balance sheet funding” in the company’s records. The package offered is totally free of risks and has a lower price than other company packages because of support and additional discounts from manufacturers to the hirer in the monthly rental.

Contract Purchase is a method of utilising a vehicle for a set period. A vehicle’s complete purchase is settled with a gain in monthly payments over the agreed period. Personal Contracts are for individuals who wish to acquire a car, benefits, and low monthly payments. Personal Contract Hire allows the hirer to pay for depreciation and interest of the car’s cost.

Hyundai leasing provides a special package of services and convenience. It also offers advantages that will give many benefits to the customers.

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The registration plates used on cars in the UK are unique in many ways and are very distinguishable from registration plates used in most other countries of the world. The history of UK number plates goes back to 1903 when they were first issued to the “Horseless Carriage” which came into being on British roads around this time. This was as a result of the Motor Car Act which came into force on the 1st January 1904 which required that all motor vehicles had to be entered on an official vehicle register and to carry a plate denoting the number issued to it. This act of parliament was passed in order that vehicles could be easily traced in the event of an accident or contravention of the law. Vehicle registration number plates in the UK are rectangular or square in shape, with the exact permitted dimensions of the plate and its lettering set down in law.

Since those early days and with the ever increasing numbers of vehicle on the road the styling of the UK Number plate has had to change in order to accommodate these increasing numbers. Currently the UK number plate has a method by which it is easy to identify the age of the vehicle although it is possible to put an older UK number plate onto a newer vehicle. This simple rule has meant resulted in an explosion in demand for older style UK number plates as many car and motor bike owners wish to “personalise” their vehicles will a private number plate which can be transferred from one vehicle to another as they acquire them.

The newer style of UK number plate has also meant that would be buyers of private registration plates can make up their own UK number plate to show their initials or to spell out the name of themselves or a company. There are restrictions of course and many combinations are not allowed, they may be in use, or the DVLA considers them unsuitable. The easiest way to make up your own UK private number plate is to use the tool which is specially designed for the purpose and accessible through the DVLA website.

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This economical BMW series comes in a variety of styles (hatch, saloon, five-door and convertible), although it has to be said that only the saloon has a touch of panache about it. It may not be an especially charming series, but these cars are functional and they do bear the prestigious BMW insignia! The driver and front passenger will enjoy ample leg room, but anyone sitting on the rear seat is best advised to be small in stature or at least not to spend too much time on it: its small back there. And while we’re griping about space, bear in mind that the hatch boot offers a meagre 330 litres to cart your weekly groceries or suitcases around in.

That said, as a rear-drive car it handles superbly, with excellent steering and an outstandingly controlled body guaranteeing comfortable, responsive driving. At the top end of the series, the 3 litre twin-turbo 350i will more than satisfy the power seekers amongst us but even the more humble models still offer outstanding engines. Along with the mammoth 3.0 litre 350i, there are two other petrol engines –1.6 litre and 2.0 litre. The three excellent diesel models (the 118d, 120d and 123d) are all 2.0 litre, although the twin-turbo 1.23d is undoubtedly king of the 1 series diesel castle. The latter comfortably surges from 0–62 mph in just 7 seconds, and squeezes a generous average of around 55 miles out of each gallon.

BMW 1 Series

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Whether you are looking to buy new DVLA number plates as a bit of fun from a few hundred pounds or whether you want to make a statement with cherished number plates that can cost around the £250,000 mark, the process is not as difficult as many think. There is an extensive range of cheap private number plates millions in fact; these include some which date as far back to 1903. These are the most desirable original cherished number plates and because these are such desirable private number plates, they are usually the most expensive number plates as they are so rare. Buyers like these because they have the letters before the number which can be a single one 1 up to 9999.

Another group of private cherished plates is the reversed combination which starts with the numbers first followed by the letters as an example 6874 RH, or 184 JBM. Although these are still an expensive registration plate they are not as costly as the ones with letters first. Numbers up to 999 are used for 3 letter plates and numbers up to 9999 for the 2 letter combinations. This style is usually slightly less valuable than the original cherished marks.

If your budget does not stretch to these expensive style registration marks why not consider cheap DVLA Registrations, examples of this include registrations like X15 JBH or F8 GHT. These numbers can be very cheap to buy from as little as £160 plus VAT and can be transferred to you in just a few days. Many customers actually invest in these number plates for the future by holding on to them with a V750 Certificate of Entitlement. The DVLA have millions of numbers for use as a cherished number plate available online or through auctions.

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