Yahoo News Ask the Expert: What is the best used car that’s exempt from Ulez charges?
Dear Alex,
My wife loves her 2014 Nissan Qashqai 1.5dCi Acenta’s driving height, comfort and economy. She wants to replace it with a three-year-old car of similar specification, something that’s exempt from Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) charges, with zero road tax.
Her mileage is 10,000 a year comprising monthly 500-mile round trips and regular short journeys. What should we look at?
–RM
Dear RM,
The first problem is that request for zero tax – because any car registered after April 1 2017 will be subject to the flat-rate VED (road tax) rules that came in on that date, in which annual tax after the first year is no longer subject to CO2 emissions-based bands.
That means that whatever you buy, petrol or diesel, will cost the same to tax (currently £165 a year) unless it was more than £40,000 when new and so subject to the so-called “luxury tax”.
You can save £10 a year off that figure, however, if you choose what the Government refers to as an “alternative fuel” – basically, hybrids and electric cars. A full hybrid (one you don’t have to plug in) such as the Toyota C-HR would fit the bill – and the C-HR ticks many of your other boxes, too.
Go for Design trim to get the equipment you require. The 2.0-litre engine is smoother and a better cruiser than the 1.8, but marginally less economical.
You’ll also have the backing of a year’s top-up warranty each time you have it serviced at a Toyota main dealer, until it’s 10 years or 100,000 miles old.
However, you could also make that tenner back in fuel savings on long motorway runs with a diesel engine – especially if the gap between petrol and diesel prices continues to narrow, as it has in the past few months.
So I’d suggest you also look at the Mazda CX-5 Sport. It’s one of those rare cars that’s better in diesel than in petrol form. It drives brilliantly, is extremely comfortable on motorways, has a beautifully finished interior and is well equipped. Mazda’s reliability record is very good, too.
