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

Monday

Spring has sprung, the sun is shining and we all feel a bit better after one of the longest winters in history.

And with the improved and better days we have also seen improved prices for used cars, and I have spoken to many people who seem to be ecstatic about the higher prices.

But before the excitement kicks in, you have to look at the prices in context.

According to CAP’s senior analyst, Jason Owens, some caution is needed.

He said: “Despite speculation that much of last year’s depreciation has been reversed, April’s Black Book prices are in general not back to where they were last October.

"MPV and convertible values are on average 6.2% less than October 2008, with upper-medium models down 2.6%.

“However, there are some winners, such as 4x4s, which are up 1.5%, city cars up 2.3% and superminis up 4.4%.

"The overall average variance to October 2008 is down 0.9%.”

It is good for all to see used values rising at last, but they are not back to where they should be for this time of year.

Wednesday

To France to drive the new Volkswagen Golf GTI.

I drove from Nice to St Tropez on motorways and on a hilly route where you could test the GTI’s handling and brakes – it was superb, great fun and felt so stable.

The engineers have managed to incorporate a ‘sound generator’ into the exhaust which gives the GTI a fantastic note, but doesn’t compromise fuel consumption or C02 emissions.

Inside, the GTI is, like the regular Golf, a very pleasant place to rack up the miles.

Friday

Down to Gaydon, the home of Jaguar Land Rover, to try the latest version of the Jaguar XF fitted with the all-new 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel.

On paper it is well advanced over the 2.7-litre unit it replaces, as it produces 240bhp compared to 207.

Its combined fuel economy figure is improved from 37.6mpg to 42.0, and C02 emissions are down 20g/km to 179g/km.

On the track it certainly is sprightly and quiet.

But these changes have come less than a year after the XF was launched, and if I was an original customer I would be a bit upset about such a huge improvement so soon into the model’s life.

What Jaguar needs quickly is a much smaller diesel engine to compete with the volume models in the sector (Audi A6 2.0 TDI and BMW 520d), though Jaguar has already ruled out slotting the 2.2-litre diesel from the X-Type into the XF.

Last year Jaguar sold 8,861 XFs in the UK and 33,512 worldwide, which has to be a good result.