Doubling of 1st year VED on petrol/diesel cars

Rachael at it again.
From April, the first year VED on new cars will double (well, those ‘emitters’ of 76g co2 km^-1 and above, below that even more)
You know that ‘first year tax’, that stealth one where some people think they get ‘free’ tax for the first year when they ‘buy’ (or most likely finance) a new car, but really it’s absorbed into the car’s RRP.
So, for eg, if one wanted to get a new ND3 2L, a 153 g co2 km^-1 ‘emitter’, well you would have seen the RRP ‘absorbing’ the prior first year tax of £680, but that will now double to £1,360. Which may well mean, at an ‘educated guess’, the price of a 2L ND3 will increase by ~ £700 to incorporate it.

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It shouldn’t impact the sticker price as in my experience in recent years VED is generally quoted and paid separately from the car purchase.

I also don’t believe you can order a new 2.0L MX-5 only the 1.5.

Odd.
I’ve had two news cars in the last 3 years and both of them had the first year VED ‘in’ the RRP. Only on the breakdown of costs lists (giving shipping costs, VED etc) was it in there. Which is why you often see ‘on the road price’ too.

??

That’s from landed stock, no new factory orders.

How do you deduce that? I get it says ‘find and reserve’ on the configurator,but it also does that if one selects the 1.5L, too

Also, all the literature pointed to the 2L being discontinued in Europe, not the UK.
Have you got something you can link which basically says ‘you can’t get the 2L in the UK any more mate’?

I read it somewhere, maybe I’m wrong, always a possibility however faint :grinning:

The 2.0l is a poor choice anyway…

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You aren’t wrong, just I’ve a lifetime proven record of being always right :innocent:

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Blimey… That’s a big opinion. I’ve been taken by the fact the 1.5 is by far the most popular choice in Japan. It may just be they are lighter than the people they export to?

I’ve got form for it, currently on my 4th ND which went in order:

ND1 1.5 - ND2 2.0 - ND2 1.5 - ND2 1.5

You can enjoy more of the car more of the time in the 1.5.

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Maybe, back before the ‘until recently’ days, when the 1.5 transmission was bullet proof :joy:

I’d rather drive it fully and risk breaking something (which is statistically unlikely) than just look at it, pretty as it is.

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Yes, fair point.

Its the only choice in Japan.

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Come on, the MX5 isn’t exactly over-powered. Why would anyone take the 1.5 over the 2.0 unless they couldn’t afford the 2.0?

I have not empiracally tested this and it will no doubt be an unpopular opinion but I have always understood the British new car motorists are quite lucky compared to some. I believe it was Denmarks new car tax rates that caused quite a stir among Redditors a year or so ago, same goes for the annual tax on cars which is based on hp in places like Belgium and can be eyewarering for even the most humble MX-5 owner.

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Depends on your use case, for mine it’s mainly small Scottish roads where agility and being able to deliver the power at the right time is most relevant. The 1.5 does that better than the 2.0 which you will find over powered when you’re balancing the car and sitting high up in the rev range on a 3rd gear tight corner.

Nearest motorway is 80 miles away.

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Fair play, maybe the first post of all time which states (in any situation) any MX-5 is over powered :+1:

I think you’re wrong. The guy favouring the 1.5 has had four since they were introduced so doesn’t sound ‘hard up’ to me :slightly_smiling_face:
Personally, I’m torn. I too play on tight roads but I just don’t like revving a car hard; it feels too frenetic for me. This points me at the 2.0. But if I do go the ND route I would insist I try both capacities on the road as there could be subtleties that aren’t obvious on paper.

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I tried both. I found the ND2 chassis suited the 2.0L. The 1.5L was OK, but l bought the 2.0L. I suspect the 1,5 is aimed at the Japanese city street market. But hey, some folk prefer auto MX5s!

Trying to push everyone towards electric cars. The poor charging networks make them impractical for many. They are much more expensive. They depreciate much more. They just aren’t as much fun to drive as cars like the MX-5.

Even doubling the first year VED wouldn’t push me towards electric.

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