By Simple Car Hire in General Articles, Blogging | 29th April 2018
The 5008 is stylish, practical and good to drive. It's one of the best seven-seat SUVs you can Rent.
Whether you like it or not, the popularity of SUVs has gone through the roof in the past decade. No longer do Renters want frumpy-looking MPVs; luxury, refinement and stylish looks are now the order of the day.
Peugeot is well aware of this and, instead of ignoring market demands like some French brands (see the Citroën Grand C4 Picasso and Renault Grand Scenic), has embraced it. The original 5008 was a traditional, boxy MPV but this current-generation model is quite firmly in the SUV camp and is a rival to the likes of the Skoda Kodiaq and Nissan X-Trail .
Like its smaller sibling, the 3008, the 5008 has a rather swish interior that, next to the functional dashboards of its rivals, makes it look like a motor show concept.
Peugeot’s i-Cockpit dashboard design works well in the 5008. Instead of looking at the instruments through the steering wheel, as you do in most cars, the dials are high up on the dashboard, with a small steering wheel below.
Seeing out of the 5008 is about as easy as it gets in modern SUVs. You sit high and, even though the front pillars are quite thick, you still get a great view forward. Looking behind, your over-the-shoulder view is great because of the large rear quarter windows.
You get lots of features with the 5008’s infotainment system. All versions come with a DAB radio, Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay, inbuilt sat-nav with live TomTom traffic updates and Android Auto smartphone mirroring. That last feature means you can display and use selected apps from your phone on the 8.0in screen, including sat-nav. Focal premium sound system adds more speakers that are also better-quality, including a subwoofer, plus a 515W amplifier. It sounds punchy and really rather good.
At night, the interior is bathed in a cultivated glow from the all-round ambient lighting. It looks truly special and makes the 5008 a fantastic place in which...
By Simple Car HIre in General Articles, Blogging | 28th April 2018
What is it?
The old Honda Civic - that is to say, the current one - was classic Honda. Conceived the other side of the 2008 global crash and then torn up in the aftermath, the five-door model arrived in Europe virtually pre-wrapped in also-ran status thanks to, in no particular order, its oddball looks, mediocre interior and an engine line-up which relegated petrol buyers to a naturally aspirated motor that dated like cottage cheese.
A big state-of-play fix was required, so Honda returned to the drawing board with the kind of relish that has resulted in something wholly new and enhanced. Thus the old regimen of gently reshaping the Civic for the peculiarities of a different region has been wisely swept aside, and instead Honda has pooled its global resources and enacted what it calls the single largest development programme in the firm’s 70-year history.
Many things have happened, then, but at the crux of them lie some takeaway facts. Firstly, that the Civic has a more sophisticated multi-link rear axle where a humble twist beam previously lived. Second, there’s a new range of petrol engines, which are turbocharged for your pleasure and include the kind of cutting-edge, tiny-capacity three-pot that’s about to take the diesel-unfriendly world by storm, and third, there’s a new look and an overhauled cabin.
The reason for the fresh look is because there’s an all-new platform, which is not only wider and significantly longer than that of the last model but also lower. Lower, naturally, is better, for centre of gravity, for your butt cheek-to-road measurement and to look at from afar. There has also been a commensurate toughening of the new-fangled unibody – by 52% in torsional rigidity and, partly thanks also to the new rear axle, a whopping 88% in lateral stiffness.
Those are wantonly large, dynamic-altering numbers, and that’s rather obviously Honda’s plan: to drive better, more comfortably and more engagingly than the immediate opposition....
By Simple Car & Van Hire in General Articles, Blogging | 10th April 2018
IKEA
As one of the most successful global brands, IKEA specialises in stylish, quality furniture at affordable prices. It has become synonymous with easy-to-assemble, flat-pack furniture. IKEA operates in 40 countries and has more than 300 locations worldwide.
IKEA has invested £80 million in the site and will be the retailers most sustainable store to date - aiming to achieve 100% renewable energy.
The store expects to receive a BREEAM ‘excellent’ accreditation and will incorporate a number of green technologies such as Solar PV panels on the roof, rainwater harvesting and ground source heating.
Electric vehicles (E.V.) will be used for home delivery, and IKEA will provide eight electric vehicle charging points on site.
IKEA will also create new cycle lanes around the store and will also provide six electric bike charging points. IKEA say they are working with local transport providers to improve existing transport links around the store.
The man behind IKEA
IKEA was founded by Ingvar Kamprad, who was born in Sweden in 1926. The brand’s name comes from his initials, and the places where he grew up.
Ingvar showed entrepreneurial talent from an early age. At just five years old he began selling matches for a profit. At 17, Ingvar’s father gave him some money, which he used to start a business – and so IKEA was born in 1943.
Ingvar continued to run IKEA until 2013, at which point his son took the helm. However, Ingvar still plays an active role in the business, visiting stores around the world.
Early days
In the beginning, IKEA sold everyday items like pens, jewellery, wallets and picture frames, transporting products by milk vans.
As popularity grew, IKEA diversified to sell furniture which was advertised in its first catalogue, produced in 1951. A couple of years later, customers could see these products for real in the first IKEA showroom.
Birth of flat-pack furniture
It wasn’t a conscious decision for IKEA to start producing its ow...
By www.simplecarhire.co.uk in General Articles, Blogging | 08th April 2018
If it’s retro charm or some good old fashion fun, the chic Fiat 500 is one of your cheapest options. Its timeless looks, inspired by the 1957 classic of the same name, are arguably the biggest reason to Rent one.
First the Volkswagen Beetle, then the Mini and now the Fiat 500. With all, the script is the same: a small, cheap, utilitarian car that became iconic through its engineering purity and brilliance. Years later, the model is relaunched as a heavily styled object, with the emphasis on premium build and desirability.
The original Nova 500 was so basic that it was conceived partly as an alternative to a scooter. There was one engine option and it had just two seats (at launch), plus suicide doors. By comparison, pour over the options list of the latest 500 and you’ll find up to 549,396 different ways of specifying the car.
There's no shortage of space in the front, but the 500’s design gave engineers a bigger challenge in making room for rear passengers. The 1957 car's roof curved towards the rear to intentionally reduce space behind the front seats, to help differentiate it from the four-seat 600. Even later 500s had rear seats that were fit only for children.
Yet today's car, which is only 3.5 metres long, was designed as a full four-seater from the off, so you sit low in the 500's back pair of seats. That said, the rear legroom is surprisingly good, Beneath a very small parcel shelf there is a 185-litre boot.
The Uconnect system is a 5in colour touchscreen that consists of a colour screen and menu buttons with Bluetooth, DAB radio & CD . A multifunction steering wheel, USB socket and aux connection are also included.
This great fun car is available at any of our Devon stores, check www.simplecarhire.co.uk for pricing and availability.
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