8 Surprising Cars With No 'Road Tax'

A huge luxury 4x4 from Porsche will strike some as an expensive gas-guzzler, but they couldn’t be further from the truth with the new Cayenne S E-Hybrid. This is a luxury 4x4 with a posh badge, huge road presence and a whole load of prestige too. Best of all, if your daily commute is less than 22 miles then you can run this car on the electric battery alone.

The S E-Hybrid has a combined output of 416bhp and 590NM of torque and takes the car from 0-62 in 5.9 seconds, so it really is no slouch when you put your foot down. The electric motor combined with the supercharged V6 return a combined 83mpg, which is very impressive, but if you have a charger at your workplace then you could, in theory, never have to fill it up…

The CO2 emissions of this Cayenne S E-Hybrid are particularly low, at just 75g/km, hence why it is free to tax.

Next up is the i8 from BMW. This is a car that was received with global acclaim, and took top honours at the Car of The Year 2015 awards thanks to its revolutionary design and technological advancements over anything else on the marketplace at the time.

The i8 truly is a unique vehicle. On the market right now there are few 2 seater hybrid supercars which offer anything in the same ball park as the i8 in terms of performance, without costing over £500k. 

The i8 also offers 22 miles running purely on the electric motor, but when combined with the 1.5 litre 3 cylinder engine, BMW claim the i8 will return up to 134mpg. The CO2 emissions from the i8 are just 49g/km.

Fancy an upmarket hatchback with no VED? The A Class is the answer, you can pick up the A180d SE and benefit from a fantastic 80mpg from the 1.5 diesel engine, as well as £0 road tax due to the 89g/km of CO2 being emitted out the exhaust.

The A-Class represents fantastic value for money in the premium hatchback market. It is genuinely accessible to a wider audience than Mercedes have ever reached before. We really recommend the 1.5 diesel engine in the A180 model, due to the economical benefits you will reap throughout ownership.

The premium hatchback market has, traditionally, been a rather expensive segment to enter and one that the everyday motorist would steer clear of. But things have changed as manufacturers have fallen under more stringent legislation and Lexus have adapted to these changes brilliantly. First and foremost, they don’t make diesel models, while the majority of Audi A3s and BMW 1 Series’ on the road use the diesel engines, which are traditionally dirty, Lexus choose to offer similar efficiency using a petrol/ electric hybrid system. Petrol, obviously, burns a lot cleaner and the electric motor helps low down in the revs to get the car off the line. The result of this is 78mpg, which is on-par with competitors, and you’ll also benefit from not paying the diesel premium at the pumps throughout ownership.

The CT falls into VED band ‘A’ thanks to puffing out just 82g/km of CO2, which is significantly less than rivals.

There’s something for everyone in this list so, accordingly, we’re including an affordable hatchback, but probably one of the most stylish and attractive models on the market today. The Coupé is a genuinely fast-looking car. The styling on higher specs are strikingly similar to the blistering Megane RS model, which is a seriously quick car. It’s high in the spec levels where you’ll find the models which qualify for zero road tax too. You need to choose the 1.5dCi engine and combine it with the Start/ Stop function, which is available on the Expression+ spec upwards. This then enters the car into the VED band A, meaning £0 road tax. Once again this model is also the most efficient out of the whole range, and you can expect to see a whole 76mpg on a motorway journey, which puts it at the top of it’s class.

If you need a big 5 seater, with a cavernous interior space and a boot fit for a family of German Shepherds, then you’ll do well to find a more complete car than the Ford C-Max. The C-Max has been around since 2003 and the latest version offers a delightfully premium interior which has rear seats purpose-built for carrying kids. The C-Max is just as comfortable on the school run as it is to take on a family holiday through Europe. If you want to be making a saving on VED you’ll need to go for the 1.5 TDCi ECOnetic engine, which is also the most fuel efficient unit in the range. This option pushes out 99g/km of CO2 and delivers a solid 74mpg - again, perfect for a long drive for the family holiday.

Another big, German 4x4 on the list that most would have considered to be a gas guzzler 10 years ago. Well times have changed and the X5 is now available in the xDrive40e SE hybrid model which puffs out a miniscule 77g/km of CO2. A combined 313hp are produced from the electric motor in this X5 when combined with the 2.0litre 4 cylinder petrol engine. The lithium battery has a range of 19 miles and operates at speeds up to 75mph.

Don’t go thinking that this is a slow car, because it isn’t. Even though it weighs 3,080kg and only has a 2.0litre engine, the X5 will still smash a 0-62 in just 6.8 seconds. Versatile.

The UK’s most popular SUV turns 10 years old this month and during those 10 years of the Qashqai, more than 2.3 million cars have been produced in Sunderland and sold in Europe. This is because they offer a complete package of comfort, appeal and economy. It’s the 1.5dCi engine that takes the headlines and offers consumers what they want, which is a powerful SUV that can return 74mpg while putting out just 99g/km of CO2, falling just inside the VED band ‘A’ - which is zero road tax.