Thousands of drivers face higher motoring costs.
Owners of certain older family cars face steep tax increases
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed Vehicle Excise Duty rates for cars registered between March 2001 and April 2017 will rise in line with inflation, with some everyday models now facing annual tax bills of £760.
The highest charge applies to Band L vehicles, covering cars that emit between 226 and 255g/km of CO2. That means a range of older family and mid-market vehicles - not just luxury models - are currently being affected.
Motor experts warned many motorists wrongly assume only premium performance cars will fall into the top brackets.
Grant Davidson, Managing Director of TikTok channel @ScottishCarClan said: “nothing is safe”.
He fumed: “Here’s [some] of the regular everyday family cars that are set to cost £760 to tax this April.
“First up is the Ford Galaxy with the 2.3 litre petrol engine. Everyone assumes these massive tax prices are going to be applied only to Lamborghinis and Bentley’s, but that's not the case, they are going after cars like this.
“Next is the humble Ford Mondeo, nothing is safe here. If it’s one of the smaller engine ones, you might be okay.
“But if it's the V6 version, god forbid you want a bit of power in your car, then you’re going to be £760 for a Ford Mondeo.
It isn't just a larger engines either, you know the little Audi TT with the 1.8 turbo engine, specifically the ones made in 2006."
He added: “You guessed it, are going to be 760 to tax for one calendar year. How about a Jaguar X-Type, you can pick these up from a couple of thousands of pounds, nice smooth two litre engine, automatic gearbox.
But from April, you guessed it, you're going to need £760 to tax one of these. How about all-wheel drive cars which some of us love, both the Land Rover Freelander 2 with the i6 engine and the Subaru Forester will both be £760 from April onwards.”
Drivers paying by Direct Debit may also face higher overall costs through instalment charges.