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Did you see it? For a fleeting second last weekend the sun came out. Naturally, this got the whole of the UK into its Bermuda shorts and down to the nearest beach.
It also reminded us all that sunshine means convertible weather, so those looking at a new company car might be looking at a drop-top to make the most of what’s sure to be another lacklustre British summer.
With that in mind we’ve picked out a selection of some convertibles available at none-too-unreasonable monthly company car tax costs.
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Why buy? The 500C is a lot of fun to drive. Based on the same platform as the Panda, the 500C oozes city chic and in convertible guise could be the perfect vehicle for catching some rays in this summer. Fitted with the 0.9-litre TwinAir petrol engine, you get lively performance with low running costs to boot. Fuel economy: 68.9mpg P11d value: £15,505 CO2 emissions: 95g/km BIK percentage*: 10% Cost per month*: £52 |
Why buy? Another fashionable car that’s a lot of fun to drive, the MINI isn’t exactly ‘mini’ these days but it is a very entertaining thanks to its well-designed chassis. The interior is a stylish place to be, and has some clever touches engineered to make life that little bit more interesting. Fuel economy: 70.6mpg P11d value: £15,695 CO2 emissions: 105g/km BIK percentage*: 15% Cost per month*: £78 |
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Why buy? The A3 is a very desirable car thanks to its combination of refined engines and good quality interiors. It’s well built, easy to drive and with the 1.6-litre diesel engine it’s an economical choice with low emissions. It also has that all-important Audi badge. Fuel economy: 65.7mpg P11d value: £22,580 CO2 emissions: 114g/km BIK percentage*: 16% Cost per month*: £120 |
Peugeot 308CC 1.6 e-HDi Access
Why buy? Usually we’d say to steer clear of any car with ‘CC’ in the name as they’re usually a fixed-roof car with all of the rigidity removed but the 308CC is the exception to this rule and actually drives pretty well. It looks good too, borrowing certain features from the attractive RCZ coupe. Fuel economy: 60.1mpg P11d value: £22,710 CO2 emissions: 123g/km BIK percentage*: 18% Cost per month*: £136 |
BMW 1 Series Convertible 118d ES
Why buy? The only rear-wheel-drive car here, it’s also quite a lot more expensive than the competition. Don’t let that put you off though – the 1 Series Convertible is great to drive with extremely good engines and very stylish, well-conceived interiors. Fuel economy: 58.0mpg P11d value: £25,665 CO2 emissions: 127g/km BIK percentage*: 19% Cost per month*: £163 |
*Company car tax figures are worked out using the 40% pay scale and the BIK percentages for 2012/13.
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