Reply to: £25 per day.

[Troll]

Car make and model Type of car Engine size (litres) Congestion Charge
CO2 emissions more than 225g/km
Ford Galaxy Ghia MPV 2.3 £25
Honda Accord 06 Tourer Estate 2.4 £25
Hyundai Santa Fe 2.7 V6 CDX MPV 2.7 £25
Renault Espace Dynamique MPV 3 £25
Peugeot 407 SW Estate 2.7 £25
Vauxhall Vectra Hatchback/Estate 2.8 £25
Vauxhall Zafira MPV 2 £25
Volkswagen Passat Estate 3.2 £25
Volkswagen Golf Hatchback 3.2 £25
Volvo V70 Estate 2.4/2.5 £25


CO2 emissions less than 225g/km
BMW 335d Executive 2.9 £8
BMW X5 3.0d 4x4 3 £8
Jaguar XF V6D Executive 2.7 £8
Porsche Boxster 2.7 Sports 2.7 £8
Volvo XC90 D5 4x4 2.4 £8

[swamp]

Why would anyone buy a 118D? Except to admit they can't afford a 325. (or whatever the spec is now)

Because you get to drive a nice and nippy car to work in the City, and parking aside it won't cost a penny. An M-Sport leather-upholsterd 118D is a very nice way to travel when compared to a tube or a bus!

And look how popular the Toyota Prius is in London: do you really think people buy them to be 'green' or to avoid the £8 Congestion Charge?!

[Platypus]

my lovely pu**y wagen Audi A3

I take it you mean you have to be a pu**y to drive/own one?

[lilelvis2000]

More anti American ranting eh?

'Course the Americans never paid..its only recently other embassies got wise to the fact they can't be forced to pay.

[lilelvis2000]

Why would anyone buy a 118D? Except to admit they can't afford a 325. (or whatever the spec is now)

[swamp]

Amazingly you can now drive a BMW 118D without paying CC:

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/pricesand...%3D%3D,00.html

CO2 (g/km): 119
0-62mph (secs): 8.9

Hats off to BMW for their Efficient Dynamics thingy.

And the 118D will hold its value like gold bullion...

(Note: Expect Toyota Prius values to drop like a stone...!)

[where did my id go?]

they're the ones with a D in the middle aren't they?

[OwlHoot]

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said his office had taken "endless legal advice", but could not find any way around the rules that say "diplomats aren't subject to the taxes and laws of other countries".

Out of interest, what would be the penalty for being caught driving with a diplomatic number plate? Are they easy to distinguish from a normal registration number?

[Bumfluff]

I dont understand people who want to drive into London unless its business of some sort delievery etc. I always avoid driving into London and would rather go round the M25 and cut in where needed, driving in London is just pure stress, and I wouldnt want to dent or scratch my lovely pu**y wagen Audi A3

[zeitghost]

Terry Wogan said this morning that Red Ken needed a hand...

I think he was implying that dear old Ken needed a good fisting.

[Troll]

Its probably to make up for the American Embassey workers who don't pay the charge (while other countries' workers do).

More anti American ranting eh?

Embassies in London have unpaid fines of at least £20,000 a day in the new western extension of the congestion charge zone, research has suggested.

The fines included more than £39,000 for the Russian embassy and nearly £25,000 for the German office.
Total fines for congestion charges owed by all embassies - mostly those outside the western extension - were close to £8m on 21 March,

They are protected from enforcement by diplomatic immunity.
The Russian embassy said it had suspended payments on 19 February, as it was "contradictory" to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The expanded congestion charge zone, which now takes in Kensington and Chelsea, includes nearly 150 embassies.

In February, the embassies of France, Germany, Belgium, Slovakia and Belarus all confirmed to the BBC News website that they had suspended payments.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said his office had taken "endless legal advice", but could not find any way around the rules that say "diplomats aren't subject to the taxes and laws of other countries".

[PAH]

Some surprising points here and it would seem some people will be surprised at getting caught. Many of the cars will be the sameas those driven by dctors, nurses, teachers, firemen etc.

This "congestion" charge becomes more and more of a farce every day.

Yeah I saw on the news recently that a fleet of non-emergency ambulances (such as for shipping the elderly to bingo and back) had to have thousands of pounds worth of filtering fitted to avoid charges/fines.

If they're worried about congestion, why not a person charge too, to catch all those that come in using bicycles or public transport, and then clog up all the pavements? I know, I know, that's for later once the suckers have got used to paying these additional taxes for no noticable benefit.

[The Lone Gunman]

Some surprising points here and it would seem some people will be surprised at getting caught. Many of the cars will be the sameas those driven by dctors, nurses, teachers, firemen etc.

This "congestion" charge becomes more and more of a farce every day.

[expat]

• The £25 charge will apply to vehicles emitting more than 225 grams of CO2 per kilometre (g/k), as well as those registered before March 2001 which have engines larger than 3,000cc
  
• Those vehicles getting a 100% discount will emit less than 120g/k.
  
• Of cars currently being driven in the congestion charging zone 17% would be liable for the £25 charge and just 2% for the total discount

Apparently this applies to make of car i.e. 4x4's and sports cars and not necessarily on fuel/emission efficiency.

It's not because they have high emissions, it's because they're not fair!

[lilelvis2000]

Its probably to make up for the American Embassey workers who don't pay the charge (while other countries' workers do).