Top Five Musts for Your Next Car

We know that looking for a new car can be a confusing time, especially at the minute when lockdown restrictions mean you can’t actually view a vehicle.

Viewing a car has traditionally been seen as one of the most important steps in the buying process, especially when looking at a used model. Many manufacturers are offering virtual viewings, and have updated their websites to provide you with as much information as possible to make sure you’re fully informed on the spec of each of their vehicles.

If you are looking to lease, then our Leasing Consultants will be happy to answer any questions you have about a particular model or what’s included on each spec. Just give us a call on 0330 221 0000 or request a call back via the purple phone in the bottom left of your screen.

To help you with finding your next car, whether it’s a lease or an outright purchase, we’ve rounded up the top five features we think you should look out for.

1. Smartphone Connectivity

You might assume that all new cars come with Bluetooth or Apple CarPlay / Android Auto in order to keep you connected on the go, but this isn’t always the case.

A lot of manufacturers only have this as an additional extra on their base models so if staying connected whilst on the road is important for you then you’ll want to make sure that any car you’re looking at has this feature.

2. Satnav

Long gone are the days where you used a road map or printed off instructions from the AA’s route planner to find your way. Instead, we all tend to rely on a tyle of satellite navigation (satnav) system in order to get around.

You can use an app on your mobile phone or a portable unit but if you think you’ll need to be using the satnav a lot then we recommend making sure your car has a built-in unit. Not only will this remove the risk of you forgetting your portable unit but it also reduces the time spent setting up and removing the unit and takes away the additional security risk of having to hide it in a safe location or take it with you when leaving the vehicle.

If you want to find out more about satnavs then you might want to take a look at this guide. 

3. LED Headlights

LED headlights are becoming more and more popular but are not standard on all vehicles.

We think that LED headlights are a must have for your next car because not only are they much brighter, so give you a better view of the road ahead at night, but they also use less power, don’t get as hot and are often smaller than traditional lights.

4. Driving Assistance Systems

Nowadays all manufacturers offer you a range of different driving assistance systems depending on the spec you opt for.

These offer a whole host of different support for you as the driver including things like emergency city braking when traffic stops suddenly for you, blind spot detection when driving and parking, parking assistance that controls the wheel and guides you into space, keeping you in your lane of traffic and so much more.

We’ve not chosen a specific driver assistance system here as we know each driver wants different things from their vehicle so won’t want the same assistance system. We do think that if you’re looking at a new car though you’ll want to opt for one with some form of driving assistance systems.

5. Electric or Hybrid Powertrain

Electric is the future and if you’re looking for a new car then we recommend you strongly consider going for an electric vehicle (EV).

If you’re not ready to make the commitment to a fully electric model just yet then you should take a look at a hybrid, which offers a lot of the benefits of an EV without the range and charging concerns which are the two biggest drawbacks of an EV.

For more information on electric vehicles click here or to find out more about the different types of hybrids then check out this guide.

Other Things to Consider When Looking at a New Car

As well as our top five must-haves for your next vehicle there are a few other things you’ll want to remember to look for, which include:

• The fuel consumption for petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles
• Charging power and speed for EVs
• Boot space
• For a company car the company car tax you’ll pay on it
• Road tax (if you’re leasing this will be covered by the funder but otherwise you’ll want to keep an eye on what this will cost)
• Cost of Insuring the vehicle

If you want to find out more about what to look for in your next lease car then head over to our guides homepage for lots of helpful information about leasing.