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Auto Express has published its list of award winning cars which I am listing below staring with their car of the year, The Mini. It is the first time the Mini has won the Auto Express car of the year award even though it is now into its third generation.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

Mini (marque) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well done Mini, still one of my most popular cars and still providing great value for money with the rates we can currently offer. Other awards are as follows with one or two shockers. For full details of the awards you should subscribe to Auto Express:

Car Of The Year                  Mini (on offer)

Best City Car                       Skoda Citigo

Best Supermini                     Ford Fiesta (on offer)

Best Premium Small Car      Mini (on offer)

Best Compact Family Car    Seat Leon (on offer)

Best Crossover                     Nissan Qashqai (on offer)

Best Family Car                   Mazda 6 (on offer)

Best Estate Car                    Seat Leon ST

Best Compact Executive     BMW 3 Series (330d on offer)

Best Executive Car              Audi A6 (on offer)

Best Luxury Car                  Mercedes S Class

Best Hot Hatch                    Seat Leon Cupra (on offer)

Best Coupe                          Jaguar F-Type (on offer)

Best Convertible                  Audi A3 Cabriolet

Best MPV                            Citroen Grand C4 Picasso

Best Compact SUV             Porsche Macan

Best Large SUV                  Hyundai Santa Fe (on offer)

Best Roadster                      Porsche Boxster

Best Pickup                          VW Amarok

Best Performance Car          McLaren 650S

Design Award                      Volvo Concept Estate

Green Award                       BMW i3

Special Award                     Tesla*

Best Van                              Ford Transit (on offer)

Safety Award                      Nissan Safety Shield**

*The Tesla has received the award for its efforts in bringing luxury and speed to electric cars and without the backing of old established manufacturers. They are even in the process of installing fast superchargers at key locations that will allow drivers of their cars to ‘top up’ in half an hour giving a range of 170 miles (a full charge takes longer but offers a range of just about 300 miles), a 0-60 acceleration of 4.2 seconds and the level of luxury and gadgetry you wouldn’t even find in a top of the range premium brand. Who said electric vehicles are dead?

**Nissan Safety Shield is a range of safety devices fitted across much of their range of new cars showing that they take safety very seriously.

So there you have it. Auto Express’s list of their top cars, many of which we have on special offer. So get your quote requests across as soon as possible. By Graham Hill

As I write this on a beautiful bank holiday Monday I see out of my kitchen window several neighbours with their hosepipe, bucket and sponge to hand doing that most tedious of jobs, washing the car. Well if the experiments being carried out by Nissan are successful this mundane weekend job may well be a thing of the past.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

They are currently testing a ‘self clean’ paint on a prototype Nissan Note which the makers claim is resistant to rain and dirt. The coating is sold by Florida based company, UltraTech International Inc. It works by repelling water and oils, creating a protective layer of air. Yes you did read that correctly they claim to create a layer of air.

For me that is one step too far, how on earth does it create a layer of air? Confused the hell out of me but no doubts someone will get back to me with an amazing answer based on chemical reactions or the pull of the moon against gravity. The real test will be whether at the end of the trials the car is still clean or not.

So far the tests have gone well, according to Nissan, the only manufacturer to apply the nano-paint to date. According to reports Nissan will make this an aftermarket option should the tests go well. What?

How to you make paint an aftermarket option? Carpet mats are an aftermarket option, a tow bar is an aftermarket option, things that the dealer can fit once the car is built are aftermarket options. Are they considering re-spraying the car with Nano Paint after the car has arrived at the dealership? Is it my age???? By Graham Hill

Related articles

• Nissan shows self-cleaning car coated in nano paint (autoblog.com)

I remember years ago whilst training as an accountant an economics professor saying never assess what the Chancellor is saying at the dispatch box when announcing the budget because the devil is in the detail and the detail is in the small print. And so itr was with the latest budget.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

Whilst company car drivers seemed to have been left alone whilst benefitting from fuel duty freeze in the small print was the ‘leaving alone’ of a previous announcement that benefit in kind (BIK) bands that kick in 12 months from now will continue to 2017 and 2018 tax years. This is the increase of 2 percentage points for each tax band per annum.

So by 2018 the BIK tax applied to cars with a CO2 emission of 76-94g/km will be 19% of the car’s P11D value. So much for looking after the motorist. In 2018 this will raise £240 million for the treasury with a further £480 million in 2019. Those that drive low emission cars will suffer the most as we will see cars under 51g/km dropping into the 13% band with 51-74g/km up to 16% by 2018.

And all this came after the Chancellor announced at the dispatch box that he is ‘increasing the discount for low-emission vehicle.’ I think it is about time for a re-think because this will take anyone currently considering an electric vehicle from a benefit in kind threshold of zero to 13% in 4 years. But it gets worse!

Because if you look at the cost of an electric vehicle compared with the equivalent petrol vehicle the BIK tax is horrendous. Take for example the Nissan Leaf, the Tekna version has an on the road figure, according to What Car of £30,490 before the Government subsidy is applied (and therefore the figure that BIK will be based upon).

Compare this with a Nissan Juke 1.6 petrol Juke, this costs £16,295, the Leaf is nearly twice the price. I seriously think that the government needs to think again about zero emission cars and the disincentive that this brings. By Graham Hill

Nissan Leaf at Tokyo Motor Show (RHD). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Talking about Nissan and their love of cameras they have just launched at the Geneva Motor Show a smart rear view mirror. It replaces the glass with an LCD display.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

In normal use it acts as a normal mirror but it can be switched to project a view from a rear view camera instead. This gives a clearer view behind especially when it is dark or raining. It also lets you see behind even when the driver’s normal view is impaired by a load that they can’t see by. Another clever idea. By Graham Hill

Related articles

• Introducing The New Nissan Smart Camera Technology (dipstix.co.uk)

When Nissan launched the Qashqai 360 that featured all round cameras (360 degrees – get it?) they probably didn’t realise that the cameras could be adapted to record accidents. Whilst Nissan and others started to mount cameras on their cars to assist with parking others were developing in car cameras that would record the bad behaviour of other drivers and record accidents for use in claims.

Thinking of a change but unsure as to the best way to finance your car? Then you need a copy of my car finance book, Car Finance – A Simple Guide by Graham Hill. Click on the link below to buy the best car finance book on the market, available as a Kindle Book and Paper Back.

Camera provider Smart Witness said that they have seen a 40% increase in sales of cameras to those wanting to avoid losing their no claims discount in crash for cash cases. The cameras automatically record everything that happens and can be switched on manually or activated by sudden braking such as in a crash.

Simon Marsh of Smart Witness said ‘It takes all the stress out of a road traffic accident. Liability is quickly established and claims can be settled much more quickly and without disputes.’ But this is likely to change as car mounted cameras, fitted by the car manufacturer, could be slightly modified to do the same thing with the recorded evidence sent via the driver’s smartphone to his or her insurance company.

With cameras mounted all round the car, as with Nissan they could even record damage being inflicted on the car by vandals – now there’s an interesting thought. By Graham Hill

Related articles

• Introducing The New Nissan Smart Camera Technology (dipstix.co.uk)