Get ready for the greenest 3-Series BMW has ever made! The German giant is readying a tax-busting version of the 318d which will have a sub-120g/km CO2 level. Auto Express has learned it will join the 119g/km 118d as the cleanest car in the brand’s model line-up.
The current 318d produces 123g/km. BMW’s engineers are confident that with some minor adjustments, the target emissions can be achieved. They are concentrating on the aerodynamics and gearing, as well as lower rolling resistance tyres.
Under current plans due to be implemented in October, sub-120g/km cars will receive a 100 per cent refund on London’s Congestion Charge, so sales of the 318d in and around the capital could be boosted significantly.
The newcomer will qualify for road tax band B, which costs £35 annually – a significant improvement on the £120 fee for cars producing between 121g/km and 150g/km of CO2.
In addition, under the revised vehicle taxation system to be introduced next year, the band B figure falls to £30 in 2009 and then zero in 2010.
A spokesman for BMW told Auto Express: “These are only proposals at the moment, but in the current climate the refinements make a lot of sense.
“If we made these changes to the 318d, they will be carried over to the 118d, too, bringing that car’s already low emissions down even further.”