Response to the Mayor of London's proposed £25 per day congestion charge - due to come in by 2009 -- has been rapid and unanimous.
The motor trade body, the SMMT, pointed it won't just hit 4x4 drivers.
The SMMT put together examples of 10 of the family cars – people carriers, estates and family saloons – that will also be liable for this 212 per cent hike in the central London motoring tax.
- Vauxhall Zafira people carrier (2.0 litre petrol)
- Renault Espace people carrier (2.0 litre petrol)
- SEAT Alhambra people carrier (2.0 litre petrol)
- Jaguar X-Type estate (2.5 litre petrol)
- Peugeot 407 estate (2.2 litre petrol)
- Honda Accord estate (2.4 litre petrol)
- Ford Mondeo estate (2.0 litre petrol)
- Saab 9-3 estate (2.3 litre petrol)
- VW Passat saloon (1.8 litre petrol turbo tiptronic)
- Citroën C5 saloon (3.0 litre petrol)
'You might have read that Ken's latest wheeze is all about taxing 4x4s, but the truth is very different', said SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan. 'Families that need people carriers and estate cars, but who already pay the penalty through higher road tax and fuel costs, are set to be hit by the mayor's triple whammy. In his war against the affluent, he seems content to ignore this collateral damage to families.'
What's more, the latest news is that the Mayor has asked Transport for London to look into ways of introducing it by 2008. There's only one answer: don't go there...