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Our checklist of top company wheels to suit all tastes and purposes, whether it's vroom-vroom you need or just enough room for all the family. STEVE FOWLER sorts the green from the lean and mean, from £18k to £80k
BMW 320d ES
Is this the greatest company car ever? Could be. What Carp's 2006 Car of the Year is everything you'd expect a BMW to be: great to drive, superbly built, plenty of space- and it'll hold its value well. What you might not expect is 18% benefit-inland taxation (thanks to low 118 g/km CO2 emissions) and mpg in the high 40s. It's decently equipped these days with aircon, CD player and alloys as standard. The only downside is its popularity - last year BMW sold more 3 Series than Ford did Mondeos.
List price £25,435
Target price £23,644
Cost per mile 50.2p
Contract hire per month £483
CO2 128 g/km
Tax liability 21%
Average mpg 48.9
0-60mph 8.6 sec
Top speed 139 mph
JD Power dealer rating ***
Lexus RX400H
Here's proof that 4x4 drivers can be green. Well, almost. The RX400h is another car to use the now-familiar hybrid technology to boost performance, lower fuel consumption and provide a tax-friendly CO2 figure. Like most Lexuses (only Alan Partridge refers to them as Lexi), it's a pretty soulless and painless experience to drive - all controls are slick and easy, the quality is okay, the stereo's good and the dealers will bend over every which way to please you. The only rea excitement comes from seeing just how far and how fast you can go on electric power, and from flicking V signs at the anti-4x4 brigade at die school gates.
List price £36,415
Target price £34,282
Cost per mile 70p
Contract hire per month £759
CO2 192 g/km
Tax liability 23%
Average mpg 34.9
0-60mph 7.6 sec
Top speed 124 mph
JD Power dealer rating *****
Jaguar XK Coupé
If you think the XK is gorgeous, wait till you see what clscjaguar has up its sleeve. Until next year, when the new 5 Series-rivalling XF hits the streets, this is the most jawdropping Jag. It's a 4.2-litre VN coupe with more than a hint of E-type about it. It's classy, cool, goes like...