A VW Lease - The Green Option

Volkswagen has long held a deserved reputation as manufacturers of stylish, durable cars that can really perform. But in recent years, VW has also looked at setting the fuel-efficiency benchmark, and in July 2010 succeeded in winning the ‘What Car? Green Car’ award for its Gold 1.6TDI 105 BlueMotion 5 door model. What Car? magazine editor in chief described this car as being “... big on ability, but small on running costs”.

The Golf BlueMotion is capable of an impressive 74.3 miles per gallon, whilst keeping carbon dioxide emissions down to 99g/km. In tax terms, this means that the Golf BlueMotion is exempt from road tax. And with a list price of £18,685, the company car tax will only cost 13 per cent of this cost. VW also won the Best Green Small Family Car award, as well as picking up the winning award in the family car category.

Bearing the above in mind, a VW lease is often a popular option for families and professionals alike, as the cars are relatively frugal to run and maintain. For those looking to lease rather than buy from new, the good news is that two VW models - the Eos and Fox - were listed in MSN’s ‘Depreciation Heroes’ Top 10, earlier in 2010.

The depreciation value is one of the major considerations to take into account when calculating the monthly cost of a lease. The value of the car at the end of a specified lease duration is called the ‘residual value’ – the higher the residual value, the less the car has depreciated in value, with the monthly costs reduced in line with this.

So with many VW cars offering low depreciation, low running costs thanks to impressive fuel efficiency, and road tax exemption, a vw lease is certainly an option to consider if you’re looking for the perfect family car, compact run-around, city car or simply, a fun car that really performs.