Business owner wanted this – an Audi A6 allroad – but opted for a Volvo V70 because it was cheaper. He says he should have spent the money on the Audi and been more satisfied with his business car

Business Car Manager: Editor’s Blog

MAKING the right decision on your next business car is so crucial. And for most business owners getting a car that makes you feel good – a car you want to drive every time you start it up – is so, so important.

To prove a point, I met up with a small business owner on Friday – he was the husband of one of my wife’s interior design colleagues – and he was very kindly taking all of us to a social event.

He likes his cars – his ideal mode of transport would be a Range Rover or an Audi RS6 Avant, car tastes uncannily similar to my own. But for now he was driving a Volvo V70 estate. Nothing wrong with it he said. But nothing right, either.

“I was going to get an Audi A6 allroad, and was just about to sign on the dotted line when I was offered this V70. It was cheaper and I took it. And I still don’t know why. Every time I drive it, I regret not spending the extra on the Audi.”

I was recounting this story last night to Paul Bulloch, owner of leasing car providers Concept Vehicle Leasing. Paul admitted himself to this faux pas. “We’ve all made that mistake,” Paul said. “I once took this car – a Volvo S40 actually – because on paper it had all the spec. And yet it was the wrong decision. It was so uninspiring to drive that I didn’t look forward to getting in it. I jumped out of that as soon as I could.”

This isn’t meant to be a pop at Volvo; it is, by coincidence, just the manufacturer involved in each case. In fact, many years back, when a major leasing company was trialling a leasing scheme for used cars, I took an Audi A4 Avant diesel. It sounded good over the phone, but I hated its colour, the fact that there was still a faint aroma of cigarette smoke, and did everything I could to avoid driving the thing. Like Paul, I chopped it in for something I really wanted.

I recount these stories, though, as a salutary lesson to us all. It’s worth spending the money on something you really want, that makes you feel good every time you drive. After all, running your own small business is hard work. It takes up a lot of your time, but it does have rewards, and one of these should be a decent car.

All of this is probably a long way round to telling you that we’ve been working hard at Business Car Manager on a new initiative that publishes this Thursday. It’s called Best Business Cars, a special online supplement.

It takes a different line to the fleet titles aimed at larger enterprises running big fleets of cars where the winners are unremittingly diesel based on lowest cost of ownership parameters. Right for the fleet market, of course, but not for the small business market. Instead, Best Business Cars celebrates those cars that balance desirability with low running costs. We’re really pleased with it – I hope you like it too.

It’s also in a new format, although it remains online delivered via our e-newsletter, as we think this is the best format for small businesses. A fact backed up by some research undertaken by FleetLine, a leasing car provider and one of our partners.

Richard Bunn, director of FleetLine, told me that the company had undertaken some research recently with its SME customers. And the best way of communicating with its customers was by email – by an absolutely huge margin.

The worst? Online forums.

These results are borne out by our own experiences at Business Car Manager. Email is so convenient for small businesses: it’s fast, you can make decisions about the content quickly, and it can be organised appropriately.

We also developed an online community last year. It didn’t move out of beta testing because it just wasn’t getting the sort of engagement promised. We have since abandoned the community. Again, my feeling on this is that small business owners and directors have limited time. They are classic cases of busy, hard-working time-poor workers. Minutes count: and you have to make sure you are making the most for your business out of each of those minutes.

Online discussions are nice to do – but not business critical. Useful to know that research bears out our experience.

So, don’t miss this Thursday. It’s our guide to the Best Business Cars. Get the business car you want to drive – and enjoy every moment of it.