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

Monday

Mercedes-Benz leasing manager Sue MacDonald and product group manager Nick Williams visited me in Leeds in a lightly-camouflaged new E-Class.

This is one of just a handful of models in the UK and is here as part of the quality development programme.

Mercedes-Benz now likes to test vehicles on the roads where they are going to be driven, and not just rely on the Australian Outback and the frozen wastes of the Arctic Circle.

Now they come to Yorkshire, where the weather is proper weather, for real-life trials and if it can stand up to Yorkshire roads, it will stand up to anything.

The new E-Class goes on sale in the UK in June. It is slightly longer than the previous model and the interior seems to have gained some extra room.

There will be three trim levels: SE, Avantgarde and Sport. Prices and specification will be announced shortly. We get to drive one next month.

Tuesday

Down to Poole in Dorset to drive the new hot hatch from the Fiat Group, the Abarth 500.

Poole is the home to Sunseeker yachts – there were many completed or near completion at its factory – while nearby Sandbanks is home to the rich and famous, and Poole Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in the world after Sydney.

The Abarth 500 might be bought by the inhabitants of Poole as it has one of the few specialist dealers in the country – there are only around 20 at the moment – and at £13,600 for the basic car, you’ll need to be at least rich, if not famous, to buy one.

We took our 500 inland to try its handling and suspension on twisty roads and it all worked beautifully, although on normal roads at low speeds the ride was just a little too firm for my back.

We took it to a private hill-climb event which proved how agile and responsive this little car is.

However, if you want a really hard ride and to go a bit quicker, then you can take it to your local dealer – if there is one – and have a £2,500 ‘Esseesse’ conversion fitted.

For this you get 17-inch alloy wheels, uprated engine output and a new air filter made by Italian specialist BMC.

The Abarth 500 has a 1.4-litre turbocharged engine that produces 135bhp (the SS offers 160bhp), goes from 0-62mph in 7.9 seconds and produces 155g/km of CO2.

It is great fun to drive, but I wouldn’t want to go in the back seat for too long.

Thursday

Popped into my local BCA auction centre at Brighouse and saw Andrew Hulme, its UK managing director. I saw just how busy the auction hall was with buyers.

He told me that used car demand is being driven by the extraordinary value for money that used cars represent following last year’s unprecedented depreciation.

Andrew said that BCA’s centres and Live Online internet bidding system have been packed with professional buyers prepared to pay ‘book-plus’ prices for quality, clean stock.

However, he sounded a note of caution, saying that the current conditions will continue only if demand stays strong and that, he said, is not guaranteed.