Save £££s by buying a greener car. With road tax rates increasing in March 2009 and again the following year, owners of high-polluting vehicles will pay the biggest price.
Avoid paying more with these green city cars...
Few manufacturers have as little impact on the environment as Smart. The model line-up is so eco-friendly that Smart occupied the top five our greenest city cars list.
The i is one of the greenest cars you can buy. And that's a good thing as many councils are looking to introduce congestion charges in their most built-up areas. It emits just 114 g/km co2.
Read Parker's review
Daihatsu's cheap city hatchback is green, too. Eco-conscious buyers should consider the 1.0-litre petrol, which is one of the greenest models in the range. Charade is very frugal and averages 53 mpg.
Panda averages 128 g/km CO2 across the range which is comparably low for a small city hatchback. Greenest choice is the 1.1 petrol, though the whole range is frugal.
Picanto is very eco-friendly and easy on the environment. With an average of 126 g/km CO2 across the model line-up, its emissions are comparably low for a small city car.The 1.0-litre petrol is the greenest Picanto.
The tiny Lupo offers a premium package of reliability, driveability and desirability. Eco-conscious buyers should consider the 1.0-litre petrol, which is one of the greenest models in the range.
For those looking for a value-for-money town car, there can be few models better than the Arosa. It shares its looks with the more expensive VW Lupo but iIt's cheaper to buy and better value-for-money.
Both Splash and Agila's 1.0-litre petrol and 1.3-litre diesel engines produce an acceptable 120 g/km. The 1.2-litre emits 131/gkm as a manual and 142 g/km as an automatic and are therefore less efficient and more expensive to tax.
Read Parker's Suzuki Splash review
Read Parker's Vauxhall Agila review
Although Twingo is quite frugal and has low carbon dioxide emissions, there are many other cars available for this money that offer access to cheaper vehicle excise duty because of their lower emissions.
Although very similar to the Suzuki Wagon R+, the Agila has some key differences. It comes with two small and green engines - a 1.0-litre and 1.2-litre - making it a cost-effective urban runabout.
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