Motors

Save some cash at the luxury end of the market

Alfa Romeo’s Mito is a small premium hatchback, and its clean 1.3-litre diesel engine puts it in Band A; the 1

PADDY COMYN
Wed Jan 13 2010 - 00:00

Alfa Romeo’s Mito is a small premium hatchback, and its clean 1.3-litre diesel engine puts it in Band A; the 1.4-litre petrol and 1.6-litre diesel models fall into Band B. Prices start at €18,995 before you take away the government discount.

The Audi A3 with the 1.2-litre TFSI petrol, the 1.6-litre diesel and 2.0-litre diesel all qualify for scrappage, as does the Cabriolet version. The A3 3-door starts from €25,195 before scrappage discount, it’s €26,195 as a 5-door Sportback model, and €32,785 for the Cabriolet version before the €1,500 discount. The A4 with a 2.0-litre diesel engine in either 120bhp, 136bhp and 170bhp all fall under Band B in either saloon or Avant form. Prices start from €34,060 (€32,560 with scrappage) for the diesel saloon and €36,460 (€34,960 with scrappage) for the Avant. The stunning A5, with a 170bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine, falls into Band B. Prices start at €44,265 (€42,765 with scrappage). You can also have the Audi A6 2.0-litre TDi with 136bhp, which is in Band B. This huge car starts from €39,735 (€38,235 with scrappage). The Audi TT diesel is a really superb car to drive. At €44,175 for the Coupé (€42,675 with scrappage), this is a brilliant buy and that fact that it costs €156 per year to tax makes it all the sweeter.

BMW also has a huge number of models that qualify for the scrappage scheme. Its 2.0-litre diesel is used in various power outputs across the 1-Series, 3-Series and 5-Series and these all have emissions of less than 140g/km, even when fitted with an automatic transmission, with the exception of the 5-Series, which only qualifies with a manual transmission. The 1-Series is available with clean diesel engines ranging in power from 115bhp to 177bhp. Prices start at €24,900 for the 3-door 116d, €23,400 with the scrappage discount.

The BMW 3-Series starts from €33,310 for the 316d. All its models get €1,500 off from the government through scrappage. Largest of all is the 520d. Although there is a new model coming later in the year, the run-out models of the 520d are expected to sell well, especially with a price tag of €40,220.

READ MORE

Other contenders: Mercedes-Benz has a number of models that qualify under the scrappage scheme. The standout model is the C-Class Blue Efficiency 200 (136bhp), 220 (170bhp) and 250 (240bhp) manual versions, the E-Class 200, 220 and 250 manual version and the E-Class Coupé 220 and 250 models with manual transmission. Prices start at €36,500 (€35,000 with scrappage) for the C200 CDi, €41,200 (€39,700) for the E200 CDi and €47,700 (€46,200) for the E-Class Coupé E250 CDi.

Finally, what about the superb-looking Volkswagen Scirocco? You can have the 1.4-litre TSi petrol or 2.0-litre TDi Sport model under the scrappage scheme. Prices start at €25,190 for the Scirocco (€23,690 with scrappage). This is a very cool car for not a lot of money.

Scrappage Hero: Volkswagen Scirocco