How clean is your car?

Sustainable Energy Ireland has a useful energy emissions calculator for all models of car purchased since 2000. I tried this out for my 2003 Renault Scenic and was quite shocked at how poor the emissions were (173 gC02/km) and that it could cost €600 under the new motor taxation scheme, compared to €292 under the current scheme. Fortunately, it will not cost this since it was registered prior to July 2008 and is thus exempt from the new system.

I was also very surprised to see how little by comparison a brand new 2008 BMW 520 Diesel is going to cost under the new scheme (€290 compared to €689 under the current scheme). This car is very efficient and emits a mere 149 gCO2/km.

The times they are a’ changin’


2 thoughts on “How clean is your car?”

  1. Of course what is a little ironic about the new emissions-based system is that it still does not address the Irish Governments stated reasons for having motor tax in the first place:

    The revenue from this tax is used to maintain and upgrade the road network in Ireland [ref]

    In my view, if this is genuinely the reason for having motor tax, then the motor taxation system should really be based on mileage, and neither the old or the new system are actually fair.

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