In Review; BMW M4 Coupe 2dr DCT [Competition Pack] (Auto/ Petrol)

What is the ultimate “affordable” performance car to lease? By this we mean cars you can realistically afford on a monthly rental – no Ferraris, Lamborghinis or McLarens here!

If you had between £500 and £750 per month to spend on the ultimate fast car, which would you choose?

There are plenty of great options in the form of the Mercedes C43 AMG (or C63 for the true petrol head), the Audi S5 (or Audi RS5 for the real driver), an Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio or the BMW M4 pictured here?

When it comes to these cars you have two very distinctive types of customers – 1) the true petrol headed customer who studies performance, torque, track abilities and comfort; and 2) the customer looking for the best deal on the quickest/best-looking car.

While it is true that demand for this type of product has declined somewhat due to rising fuel prices, insurance costs, traffic on roads and the laws strict liability on motoring offences, there is a still a customer database who doesn’t want a 1.2 petrol SUV or a 2.0 diesel saloon.

What is going to be interesting moving forwards is whether or not these cars continue to receive the same publicity and investment.

Already we have seen Audi announce that the S6 and S7 will be available in diesel only and the S5 will soon offer a 3.0 TDI V6 diesel option which is connected to a 48-volt mild hybrid system.

But what about PHEV and full-electric options? Are these going to replace our petrol performance cars? Based on recent conjecture and policies, by 2030 this may well be the case and the petrol options noted above will be little more than relics and antiquities!

Thank you to our personal car leasing customer, from Skelmersdale (Lancashire), for sending through these amazing pictures of their brand-new M4. As you will note in the background, the customer has already been enjoying a Snapper Rocks Blue diesel 420d but wanted something more exciting for the weekend driving.

While a 4-cylinder diesel 4 series is an incredible day to day option for higher mileage users, this doesn’t always offer the same enjoyable experience which you get from the M4 for those shorter rural journeys.

If you do have the budget to afford both options, utilising an efficient diesel for your higher mile requirements coupled with a performance petrol engine, is a great way to run your personal fleet. Hopefully, with the introduction of better lithium-ion battery technology, there will be some more proficient PHEV options (with diesel engines) and fully-electric which provide an even better eco-option.

However, this could be 2021-22 before we have such options freely available (and relatively affordable).

Can I lease a car with zero deposit? Does no deposit car leasing exist? A question asked of us by the customer here who didn’t want to make any initial capital outlay with their new car, having only recently done so with their 420d vehicle.

What we have to stress to customers, is that we cannot use the word “deposit” with any contract hire products.

Under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), customers must be treated fairly and they have introduced certain principles in order to bring about making improvements for those involved in financial services. As such, a leasing broker must be very exact and careful when they describe the product being offered to the customer to prevent any mis-selling or confusion.

A deposit can insinuate that this is a purchase style product or that the money provided initially will be somehow returned at a later stage.

To confirm, the first rental you pay with contract hire is known as the “initial rental”.

The special offer lease car prices advertised on our website are all based on contract hire arrangements and will all be based on an Initial Rental equivalent to six rentals on a spread basis (this is sometimes referred to as “6 Spread” Initial Rental).

By way of example, if a price is advertised at £300 per month on a 24 month contract the Initial Rental would be £1800. On this basis, the customer would pay £1800 in month 1 (usually 7-10 days AFTER delivery) and £300 in months 2 – 24.

However (subject always to credit) CarLease UK can facilitate other Initial Rental and Payment requests which may better suit the customer’s needs. Please see some of the other options set out below:

· No Initial Rental/Single Initial Rental – for customers with strong credit, this is an opportunity to take a vehicle without any enhanced initial rentals or payments. Taking the example, above if a car was advertised at £300 per month on a no Initial Rental basis, you would simply pay £300 in months 1 – 24;

· Spread Rental (other than 6) – upon request (and subject to the finance / leasing company) CarLease UK can offer an Initial Rental or Initial Payment equivalent to 3,6,9 or 12 times the monthly rental. For example a 12 spread Initial Rental or Payment on a £300 monthly rental would be £3600;

· Enhanced Rental / Payment – upon request (and subject to the finance / leasing company) CarLease UK can offer an Initial Rental or Initial Payment which is specifically catered to the customer; or

· Terminal Pause – this is an alternative method for structuring the Initial Rental. For example, if a customer utilises a terminal pause on a “6 times basis” for a 24 month contract which is advertised at £300 per month, the customer would pay £1800 followed by 18 monthly rentals. In this example, the customer is actually paying for the months upfront. Traditionally this enabled the Customer to utilise a rental holiday before taking a new vehicle.

So in answer to the question, CarLease UK do offer “no deposit/no initial rental” arrangements but the customer needs to let us know at the outset what their preference is.

This is very common with company car users who receive a car allowance, as they will be getting a set amount per month from the company which is paid into the their bank account every month (after income tax deductions).

Making a large initial capital outlay does not make good financial sense in these situations. What customers do have to remember is that with contract hire, the “big deposit” does not make the overall cost of the arrangement any cheaper. In making a higher initial outlay, you can make the subsequently monthly rentals lower BUT this is no cheaper than a smaller initial rental. What we stress to customers is that the entire process must be affordable and due consideration to whole life costs (servicing, tyres, fuel and insurance) is required.

Do not make big initial rentals to reduce the monthly rental as you would effectively need to re-do this in the next 2/3/4 years with your next new car.

Are there any criteria for zero initial rental/deposit deals? The main criteria is credit. As contract hire is a credit based product, regardless of the initial outlay, you will have to undertake a full credit application. You cannot avoid this with our financial products. For those drivers looking to pursue the no deposit schemes, you need to ensure you have very strong credit. As a pre-cursor look on credit reference agencies like Experian which will help you to understand your credit position.

In terms of the car shown here, the BMW M4 COUPE M4 2dr DCT [Competition Pack] Auto (Petrol), this is based on the following configuration:

· San Marino Blue Individual paint – San Marino blue
· Extended Individual Merino leather – Black
· Blue shadow interior trim with black high gloss chrome finish
· 20″ M star spoke forged alloy wheels style 666M with mixed tyres in black
· Sun protection glass

As standard the car includes cruise control with brake function, controller with 8.8” monitor, enhance Bluetooth with wireless charging, stop/start button, auto dimming rear view mirror, body coloured externals, daytime running lights, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors, heat insulting tinted glass, LED indicator lender, two part LED taillights, rain sensors including auto headlight activation, extended lights package, media pack (Professional), keyless start, immobiliser and Thatcham Cat 1 alarm, M mobility system, Bluetooth, DAB radio, Wi-Fi hotspot, 3 spoke multifunction steering wheel, dual zone climate control, electrically adjustable front seat with driver seat memory, heated front seats, LED compartment lighting, M specific seats welcome lighting, CBC, DSC+, STC, warning triangle and first aid kit, adaptive M sports suspension, differential lock and sports exhaust system, front/rear parking distance control, 20” light forged alloy wheels, extended individual merino leather upholstery, heated windscreen and washer jets, adaptive M sports suspension and keyless start.

In terms of additional specification, considering adding – sun protection glass, Apply CarPlay, head up display and the Harmon/Kardon surround system.

On the technical-side company car and business users can note the P11d at £65,955.00 and CO2 at 213g/km. The 2979CC 7 speed auto petrol engine delivers 34 combined MPG (EC), 28.2 combined MPG (WLTP), 450ps and 0-62 times of 4 seconds. Service intervals are every 24 months or 18,000 miles, whichever lands sooner.

So would the BMW M4 be your selected performance car leasing option? Or would one of these beauties take your fancy?

In Review; BMW M5 (F90) Saloon 4dr DCT

In Review; BMW 520d M Sport Touring 5dr (Auto)

In Review; Mercedes AMG C43 4Matic Premium Plus 2dr Coupe 9G-Tronic (Auto/ Petrol)

In Review; AUDI S4 (Saloon) Quattro 4dr (Tip-Tronic)

In Review; Ford Focus ST-3 2.0 TDCi (185 BHP)