Published on April 22nd, 2022 | by Matthew Albutt
When it comes to company cars you will probably want a car that’s cheap to run, doesn’t cost the Earth in tax and can also be used with the family on the weekends.
Our guide below is aimed at helping you make an informed decision based on your circumstances.
Tesla launched its first car in 2008 and pretty much revolutionised the car market. The popular Model 3 comes in three different versions; standard, long-range and performance. However, due to the mileage company car drivers might do, we recommend the long-range version, purely because you get that extra range out of the battery compared to the other two versions.
You’ll be pleased to hear that it scored 5 stars on the Euro NCAP safety rating, and twinned with its other safety features, such as semi-autonomous Autopilot technology, it hits the top spot on being the safest company car option available. This not only reduces business risk but also the business’s duty of care too.
As with a lot of electric cars, the Model 3 excels in its acceleration. It can achieve 0-60 in 4.4seconds, something unheard of in company cars with conventional internal combustion engines (ICE).
Fitting the family in at the weekends won’t be a problem either, with a 425 litre boot space when you add the total from the front and rear storage areas together.
Owned by Volvo, you can expect the overall quality to be great. The Polestar is a good alternative to a Tesla Model 3. It’s a comparable size and gives a similar performance for a slightly cheaper price.
Similarly to the Tesla, we recommend the long-range version as you will get those extra miles between charges, which will be important if you’re on the road a lot. The good news is, you can charge the battery from 10-80% in around 30 minutes if you use a 155kW public charger, which is probably just enough time to grab a coffee and some food in between appointments.
Acceleration wise it can go from 0-60 in 4.7 seconds, and considering it’s a heavy car, it handles well. Boot wise you’re looking at 405 litres, 20 litres less than the Tesla above. Although the boot is smaller, you will also find a storage area at the front at 35 litres.
The Polestar 2 achieved a 5 star EuroNCAP score with an adult occupant score of 93% and a child occupant of 89%, which are both pretty high.
The traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) Octavia has been a favourite among company car drivers for a long time because it’s fairly cheap to run, its reliable and more importantly, it has a spacious interior which can carry the family at the weekends. The boot is an impressive 490 litres on the hybrid version, which is 150 litres less than the non-hybrid model. With that said, there’s still lots of room to use.
All models use a 1.4 litre engine combined with a 13kWh battery. The standard SE-L produces 201bhp and can accelerate at 0-62mph in an impressive 7.6 seconds with an official battery range of 43 miles. When running on the electric motor only, the Skoda is quiet inside and very smooth.
Safety wise, the Skoda Octavia scores 5 stars on the EuroNCAP test with an adult occupant score of 92% and child occupant score of 88%.
If you’re looking for a sensible and practical plug-in hybrid (PHEV) that doesn’t cost the Earth to run, then the Skoda is a good option.
The X5 hybrid will be cheap to run for a large SUV when using the battery on its own, or a combination of that and the internal combustion engine (ICE). That being said, if you just use the ICE then you’ll probably only get around 30 MPG.
Company car drivers can enjoy an 8% BIK tax rate, which is competitive compared to similar cars. It also offers plenty of space for the family and any luggage. Unlike the standard X5, you can’t have this version as a 7 seater as the space has been taken up with the batteries.
However, although you can’t have the 7 seats, the boot is still large at 500 litres (150 litres less than the ICE version) with the seats up and a staggering 1,720 litres with the seats down.
The Recharge is Volvo’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of the large estate. The car is powered by a 2.0 litre petrol engine plus an electric motor that can accelerate you from 0-62 mph in 5.5 seconds, which is an impressive feat.
As the Volvo is a heavy car, if you purely run it on the petrol engine you will only get around 35mpg, so if you’re a high mileage driver you might not see many fuel-saving benefits. Although this may be the case, running it as a hybrid you can achieve up to a reasonable 313 mpg.
The boot is an impressive 560 litres with all the seats up, which is one of the biggest boots out of our recommendations.
The Mercedes E300 is available as a petrol and diesel hybrid with over 30 miles of electric range. The 2.0 litre engine, combined with the battery, can produce 316bhp which is enough to propel the car from 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds. When using both the internal combustion engine (ICE) and the electric battery combined you can achieve 235 mpg, however, when using just the ICE you’ll see a reasonable 40-50 mpg.
The only thing that lets the E300 down is its relatively small boot at 370 litres. That’s smaller than all the boots in our recommendations. Check out our E-Class review here.
You may be thinking this is a bit of a strange one in a world that seems to be leaving the conventional diesel engine behind. However, although the BIK is at a much higher rate of 31%, you’ll be paying this on a much cheaper car that offers a decent return on fuel, and has an abundance of space.
The Superb starts at around £34k for the basic diesel model and can reach around £41k for the top of the range model. The boot has a generous 660 litres, so if it’s space you’re looking for then the Superb is class leading. The main reason for the bigger boot is because the Superb doesn’t have to lug loads of batteries around, which are usually stored below the boot space.
The 2.0-litre version has a 6-speed manual transmission and can accelerate from 0-62 mph in 9.2 seconds. Interior wise, it’s the standard quality you’d get from Skoda, and very difficult to fault.
At Agility Fleet, our team are on hand to support and guide you through your fleet and personal contract hire needs.
If you have an enquiry please call us on 01527 571 605 or email us on info@agilityfleet.com
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