Thinking CAP: CAP's manufacturer relationships manager Martin Ward scours the globe for the week's insider fleet intelligence.

Monday

Went to see a friend who has been in business selling used cars for as long as I can remember.

He is known locally as the dealer who is only happy when he is miserable.

Today he was happy as he had sold many cars over the weekend and taken in some nice ‘swappers’ that he can retail which will make some more profit.

He has suffered over the past few months, but now he is sticking to cars he knows and will not be tempted with anything he doesn’t.

He is playing safe.

He will not touch any 4x4s, MPVs and premium brand models at any price, instead sticking to the bread and butter Vauxhall Vectras, Merivas, Ford Fiestas, Kas and Focuses, Nissan Micras, etc.

He has made the conscious decision to sell cars he knows will sell, and sell quickly.

He has the same amount of stock as he had last January, but at a much reduced cost, which is keeping the bank manager happy, and his customers.

Tuesday

Down in Winchester today to drive the new Fiat Qubo, a strange mixture of a car.

It has a shortened platform from the popular Grande Punto, so it rides OK, while the body is from the Fiorino van with some comfortable rear seats and side windows.

I drove it for a few hours on a variety of roads and it performed really well – quiet and with a positive feel on the road.

Two engines are available: a 1.4-litre 73bhp petrol and a 1.3-litre MultiJet 75bhp diesel.

Fiat says the diesel will take the majority of sales, but at £1,200 more than the petrol I’m not so sure.

The Qubo is a small MPV and will certainly appeal to those who want plenty of room, comfort and loads of standard kit at a reasonable price.

It is a flexible car and if you put the rear seats down it turns into a van, which it was in the first place.

It does look cute and no doubt there will be plenty of people who want one.

We drove past the docks at Southampton while on the launch and were staggered by the number of new cars and vans ready for export, but were told the market they were destined for had collapsed and they would remain in car parks indefinitely.

According to the local TV news, there are more than 10,000 Hondas, mainly CR-Vs, parked there with no homes to go to.

Friday

My first chance to drive the new Volkswagen Golf in the UK.

The roads were clear and gave us a good chance to test the first cars into the country.

This launch is far removed from the last time I drove the Golf, along with many from the leasing industry in Berlin, where we didn’t get much chance to drive it on clear, open roads, but drove it mainly in heavy congestion.

But a more leisurely, less stressful drive around Surrey proved what a great car the new Golf is.

Like all previous Golfs it is an evolution and not a revolution – spotting the differences when
it is on its own is difficult, but put mark five and mark six models alongside each other and the styling differences are easy to spot.

The one outstanding feature is just how quiet it is.

At any speed or road surface, it really is a pleasure to sit in and drive.