Business Car Manager Road Test Rating
Ford talks about comparing its new 1.0 litre EcoBoost engine to its 1.6 litre petrol model. But we don’t think that’s the right comparison for business car drivers.
We’d rather compare this new engine to the 1.6 TDCi diesel in the Ford Focus.
Let’s take a look:
- Ford Focus 1.6 TDCI Titanium 115PS DPF
- P11D £19,790
- CO2 emissions 109g/km
- Company car tax band 2012/13 15%
- Benefit in kind value £2969
- Company car tax payable £594 (20%)/£1187 (40%)
- Economy 67.3mpg
- Ford Focus1.0T EcoBoost Titanium 125PS
- P11D £18,940
- CO2 emissions 114g/km
- Company car tax band 2012/13 13%
- Benefit in kind value £2462
- Company car tax payable £492 (20%)/£985 (40%)
- Economy 56.5mpg
As you can see, the cost of the EcoBoost is cheaper, its benefit in kind company car tax banding is lower, and the amount of company car tax payable is less – which will widen in 2013/14 tax year. The only area where the diesel scores substantially better is on the official fuel economy figure: but we reckon both will achieve around 44mpg in everyday use, and the cost of diesel on the forecourts is greater. Our only reservation is on the monthly contract hire leasing prices where the EcoBoost currently looks expensive compared to the diesel – but this will no doubt alter as more contract hire firms start to ‘book’ the new EcoBoost, and we haven’t seen Ford’s offer on it yet, which will no doubt set the financial ‘tone’.
That aside, you can see why we think the EcoBoost engine should be considered carefully by company car drivers and business car managers: the running costs for both driver and business will be less (lease price aside for the moment).
Is diesel dead? It’s not buried yet, but the rising cost of diesels, thanks to their increasing complexity plus problems with those soot reducing DPF filters clogging up, means their economic advantage is eroding. And with brilliant new engines such as this 1.0 turbo gem, the EcoBoost is helping shovel earth onto the coffin.
Characterful, economical, tax-efficient and fun to drive, the 1.0T EcoBoost is now the pick of the Focus range.
