A car-finding challenge

[Renny]

Mini Cooper D is below 120, mind you a Cooper s is only 136g/Km

Ahem!

I noticed your suggestion and agree, but also suggesting a slight deviation from the criteria to add some fun..

I'm also considering a new car with similar criteria to Chris and I'm seriously tempted by a Cooper S. Mind you, I've also considered a Smart Fortwo (tempted by the CO output, but not sure about visibility with a paper bag over my head )

Watching this with interest...

[Mr Cholmondeley-Warner]

Just teasing ...

Mini John Cooper Works - 165 g/km

Re Smarts - I thought the Brabus Roadster was commonly considered to be the better car (although no longer produced) - but maybe you need the 4 seats?

[PeterE]

If you don't like diesels, the SEAT Ibiza Sport with the 105 PS 1.2TSi petrol engine is 119 g/km.

[ScoobyChris]

Some interesting suggestions to investigate. Fiat aren't necessarily ruled out if I follow this option as the car will be fully maintained on my behalf. However, the downside is that it has to strictly conform with the "green" parameters. Annoyingly when the scheme was first announced they talked about 140g/km being the target which would have meant the Cooper S would have been available, but alas the greenies have had their way and squished it down....

Chris

[TripleS]

Some interesting suggestions to investigate. Fiat aren't necessarily ruled out if I follow this option as the car will be fully maintained on my behalf. However, the downside is that it has to strictly conform with the "green" parameters. Annoyingly when the scheme was first announced they talked about 140g/km being the target which would have meant the Cooper S would have been available, but alas the greenies have had their way and squished it down....

Chris

It's the greenies wot ought to be squished.

Much more of this and I might need to start taking an interest in eco-driving; or perhaps I should say even more of an interest....

I'm still reckoning on getting 1000 miles out of a tankful one of these days.

Best wishes all,
Dave.

[Renny]

Given that it will be maintained, I'd possibly add Citroen and Peugeot back in to the list, though for a private purchase I'd stay clear. The DS3 gets good reviews indicating it is fun to drive, but I'm not sure about the visibility aspects.
Fun and <120g/Km is a challenge. Mini Cooper D and BMW 118d would be top of my list, especially as the residuals should be good, so decent lease costs. It depends on how much room you need and other issues like dealers.

[theduck]

Honda CRZ seems to fit this criteria perfectly

http://www.honda.co.uk/cars/cr-z/

[Renny]

Honda CRZ seems to fit this criteria perfectly

http://www.honda.co.uk/cars/cr-z/

Not if you read Autocar's roadtest

I can't see the point in lugging a load of heavy batteries, containing scarce and sometimes toxic metals around. Still might be worth a look at, though the dealer up here is Arnold Clark

[ScoobyChris]

It's certainly an interesting prospect and I'm trying to track one down locally I can drive. So far the 1 series is topping the list in either 116d fully-loaded-spec or 118d "poverty" Sport spec but I'm still awaiting demonstrators to become available so I can get a decent drive in each and compare them. MINI Cooper D is up there too and a nice enough place to be, although again waiting to get a decent length test drive in it.

Disappointing were the Mk6 Golf and Audi A3 and the Mazda 3, while looking promising on paper, was a bit lacking in the flesh and would have benefited from a non-eco focused powerplant.

The search continues!

Chris

[Renny]

I sat in a Honda CRZ yesterday. Interesting styling, inside and out, but once again limited head room and sloping pillars meant a very cosy cockpit with restricted forward views and almost non-existant rear quarter views. I anyone ever sees one of these reversing out of a parking space, I can assure you the driver can see almost nothing.

[ScoobyChris]

Unfortunately the fuel economy figures ruled out the CRZ for me so I never got as far as looking at one. If only they'd stuck an oil-burner in there! Off to the BMW dealer tomorrow for some extended test drives of the MINI and 1-series

Chris

[Renny]

Have an enjoyable day Must try the 1-series as the price difference betweena 118d and a Cooper D with a few options is not too big, especially looking at a demo 118.

[trkkshotbry]

Wow

Do you guys really pay a yearly tax on co2 emissions? That's incredible.
Here in the states we pay a one time "gas guzzler" tax at the time of initial purchase and never again. Used cars are exempt from this tax and its pretty nominal to start with. V8s over 5 liters and a few cars with forced induction 4 bangers are the only ones that have to pay.

Lemee guess this is more of that man made global warming bovine excrement isn't it?
Does this tax apply to motorcycles as well, how about obese people and the overly promiscuous as their heavy breathing also discharges co2 into the atmosphere? Do you get a tax break if you have trees on your lawn since the trees inhale co2 and keep the carbon to exhale o2?

Pardon my ignorance I'm from Oklahoma.

[Gareth]

Do you guys really pay a yearly tax on co2 emissions?

We have all the taxes you could ever want

For the private motorist, there are different levels of road tax, an annual payment which provides a coloured paper disk to be displayed in the windshield, where the cost varies according to broad categories of CO2 emission. Then of course there is the duty imposed on fuel, and then there is sales tax on top of the (fuel + duty) amount.

When a company provides a car for its worker that is also available for private use, (and this includes commuting), there is a 'taxable benefit' value which is scaled according to a larger number of categories of CO2 emissions, plus additional loadings depending upon which emissions standard the car meets, so it's not just CO2 but also includes NOX and particulates.

If a company also provides fuel for a company car for which the worker does not reimburse private use, then there is a similar 'taxable benefit' value.

In both cases the taxable benefits for company cars are added to the worker's salary and taxed at their highest rate of income tax. The company also has to pay national insurance surcharges for both cases, (national insurance being just another form of income tax that the government pretends isn't income tax, although really it is).

That's a rough outline and the full gory details can be found at the HMRC website.

[trkkshotbry]

Well with all those taxes its a wonder England isn't the most prosperous country on Earth, or maybe it truly is impossible to tax your way to prosperity.

All comments are firmly tounge in cheek, please take no offense. Here across the pond we are staring straight down the barrel of similar and equally offensive taxation request from our supreme commander the righteous and venerable prince Obama. He wants to levy taxes on co2 emissions, a value added tax so that every time a waiter pops the top on another horrible american beer for you there's even a tax for that.

Isn't that why we left England in the first place?

Well not my family, we were sent here in the 1500's aboard HMS hercules as a punishment for our crimes against the king and realm. Boy he sure showed us huh?