[AlanHo]

What Car magazine has included the i30 in their 2012 list of recommended company cars.

Vauxhall are not going to be pleased that the Insignia and Astra are not in this year's list.

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/best-company-cars-rated-updated/259507

[Doggie 1]

 
We're on the up & up.

[Keith]

The latest output from JD Power published here in the UK by Autoexpress indicates our Mk1 i30 is now beginning a descent from the lofty heights of 2nd most wanted car.

Its now 15th, but the C'eed rates even worse.

Skoda seem to fare very well... but there are some really pricey cars well behind our i30 in all measures still... from what AlanHo says Hyundai seem to have addressed the issues current i30 owners began marking their cars down for.

[Doggie 1]

2nd hand i30 or 2nd Skoda?
It's a no-brainer for me. I know which I'd take.
My car is now approaching 124,000 trouble-free kms and I have no reason to doubt that it will continue to be a very reliable car to own.

[Keith]

  Agreed... maybe its just Mk1 i30 owners cant be bothered doing the JD Power form filling these days? I'd have another i30 in a heartbeat! 

[Dazzler]

That's great news Alan 

[d3matt]

I've just chosen an i30 1.6CDRi Blue Drive as my new company car as only this and the new Ceed (not out yet) met the spec of being under £19K otr, less than 100g/km CO2 and with a certain level of spec that I wanted as I'll be spending 2.5 hrs per day commuting.  When you spec up Fords and Vauxhals to include some basic kit, they come in well over the £19K limit.  When the P11D and CO2 are so important, the i30 and Ceed are certainly the best on paper.  Now add to that that these new models are such high quality and on par with the European rivals, they win.  It's just the badge snobs that will take a while to realise.

[Phil №❶]

It's just the badge snobs that will take a while to realise.

That's why I30 drivers always have smiles on their faces. They're laughing all the way to the bank 

[Doggie 1]

It's just the badge snobs that will take a while to realise.

That's why I30 drivers always have smiles on their faces. They're laughing all the way to the bank 

  Exactly 
I smile everytime I pass a 1 series BMW 

[accim]

I've just chosen an i30 1.6CDRi Blue Drive as my new company car as only this and the new Ceed (not out yet) met the spec of being under £19K otr, less than 100g/km CO2 and with a certain level of spec that I wanted as I'll be spending 2.5 hrs per day commuting.  When you spec up Fords and Vauxhals to include some basic kit, they come in well over the £19K limit.  When the P11D and CO2 are so important, the i30 and Ceed are certainly the best on paper.  Now add to that that these new models are such high quality and on par with the European rivals, they win.  It's just the badge snobs that will take a while to realise.

How much does that CO2 mean financialy over there? Over here, it's the same if it is 100, 120 or 150 g/cm3. Just wondering.

And let me comment about i30 being one of the best company cars. I totally agree. It has everything. The price, servicing, warranty and it's comfortable, user-friendly.. I think soon (in 3-5 years) i30's will become one of the best company cars over here too. So far, usually Renault Megane or even more often, Skoda Octavia gets that title in that class.

[d3matt]

The rates can be seen here http://www.nextgreencar.com/companycartax.php

The way it works is employees pay tax based on this equation:

Car OTR price x BIK rate x your tax rate.

Therefore, in the UK the i30 Blue Drive Style 128PS is £19,295 on the road.  Less the £55 first registration fee, so the price for tax purposes is £19,240.
The CO2 is 100g/km so the BIK (Benefit in kind) rate is 14% for a diesel in this current tax year.

So this works out at:
£19,240 x 14% = £2,693.60
This is what is added to your salary as a taxable benefit (called P11D).  You are then taxed at 20% or 40%.  In my case the vehicle will be taxed at 40%, so that is £1,077.44 tax per year to pay for having this car.

Then add to this I'll get fuel paid too.  This is taxed at a fixed price per tax year, then multiplied by the BIK rate.  This tax years rate is £20,200 for everyone.  And next year it is increasing at 2% above RPI!!
£20,200 x BIK = fuel benefit

So I'll pay £1,131.20 tax for the fuel benefit.

So that's a total of £2,208.64 tax per year for having one of the most fuel efficient cars in the class!

Add to that the company also has to pay tax for providing the car too - called Class 1A National Insurance.  On this car above it works out at £2,655,12 tax.  This is at last years rate of 13.8% and it is probably higher this year.  So on top of the company having to pay for financing the car purchase, paying for the fuel, insurance, road tax (free in this case), maintenance, tyres etc etc, they also have to give the government this tax.
So in total the government get £4,863 per year tax on this company car.  Plus the annual road tax (free in this case, but typically £100-250 per year), plus all the tax paid on the diesel.  In my case (doing 33,000 miles per year) that's approx £1,738.71 fuel duty.
So thats a total of £6,602 per year in tax for running this car.  And that is without the VAT as this is a company (as they can claim back the VAT).  If you add the VAT onto this fuel, that's another £745.

[thebutcher316]

I'm sure just about anyone here will back me up in saying I personally believe the i30 makes a fantastic company car!! 

[d3matt]

Going one step further with these tax calculations, assuming you earn £42,475 (which is the maximum amount you can earn in this tax year which is taxed at 20% and any earnings over this are taxed at 40%).
You pay £6,874 income tax and £4,185.96 national insurance.  Your employer also pays £4,828.21 national insurance.
Then assuming you have the i30 as a company car and do 33,000 miles.....

Your employer is giving the government a total of £22,490 per year and this will rise each year.  And that's based on a middle income with a very modest and fuel efficient car!

There are so many hidden taxes that people don't realise.  And the country is still £52bn in debt!!

[Dazzler]

That is criminal...