BY THEIR very nature, people carriers tend to be big and heavy and don’t naturally lend themselves to low emissions, but advances in diesel technology are putting this right.
Citroen offer their old Xsara Picasso and the worthy C4 Picasso HDi 5-door, which also qualifies as a Band B car with emissions of less than 140g/km. There are no details on discounts from Citroen’s new Irish operation as yet and dealers appear not to have price lists. Their C3 Picasso, a compact people carrier, also qualifies for the scheme, with emissions as low as 119g/km in the diesel.
The Ford C-Max, a 90bhp 1.6-litre TDCi, falls into Band B and is one of the better choices as a five-seater MPV, although there are new versions, including a seven-seater, coming later this year.
The Mercedes-Benz B-Class, which has high access points and some of the traits of a small people carrier, qualifies. The B180 and B200 CDi versions with manual transmissions fall into Band B and come with the €1,500 scrappage allowance.
The Skoda Roomster is another good small people carrier. It starts at €15,975 for the 1.4-litre 70bhp TDi under the scrappage scheme.
The Renault Scenic 1.5 dCi diesel has emissions of 130g/km and is another decent five-seater MPV. Their seven-seater, the Grand Scenic, with the same 86bhp engine, also squeezes in under the 140g/km threshold to become one of only two proper seven-seater MPVs to qualify for the scheme.
There is an additional €4,000 off Renault Scenic models and €3,000 off Grand Scenic models, as well as the Government’s €1,500 allowance. This means you could pay as little as €17,690 for a Scenic and €22,090 for a diesel Grand Scenic. The Grand Scenic comes with the more powerful 106bhp diesel and this would be the one we would choose under the scheme.
However, our star of the scrappage scheme when it comes to people carriers goes to the Peugeot 5008, which is just arriving in dealerships now. Early tests against some of its key rivals have shown it is a superb vehicle and its clean 1.6-litre HDi diesel had emissions of 140g/km, right on the threshold of scrappage. This means you can claim €1,500 off the price of the €26,870 price tag for the 5008 SE.
It might be harder to ignore Renault’s more generous discounts on the Grand Scenic, but for us, the 5008 feels like a much better car, more SUV-like than family minibus.
Scrappage Hero: Peugeot 5008
