Functionality over form

Sean O’Grady test-drives the top-of-the-range D-Max and finds it’s got everything covered if you like a bit of rough

- Sean O’Grady

There aren’t many ways to get ahead of the game these days, what with the Western world going fascist and everything. So just to ease the pain of losing your human rights within about the next decade or so, I thought I’d let you know about a nice little bit of entirely legal tax avoidance but you’ll need to hurry.

The vehicle of choice here is admittedly not for all, being one of those chunky big double-cab pickups you’ll have noticed around the place the last few years – such as the much improved Isuzu D-Max that’s just been released.

If it is bought as a company vehicle for an employee’s use, both business and private, the annual benefit-in-kind (BIK) charge remains a very reasonable flat rate of £3,960, coming out as £792 pa for a basic-rate taxpayer – but only for vehicles “ordered” by 6 April 2025. After that date, thanks to HM Treasury, things are radically different. In the case of “my” test car, for example, the value of the BIK is put at £17,585, yielding a tax bill of £3,517 for a basic-rate taxpayer.

So if you’ve already got a D-Max, or one of its rivals, and your company has ordered legitimately by that date – say by paying the deposit and using the usual purchasing channels – you keep that low tax liability until 2029. Any double-cab (ie familyfriendly) pickup ordered after 6 April will be subject to the same BIK charge as a passenger car – meaning that unless you really like the looks, or have some need for this versatile type of motor, then you may as well buy a more conventional car, unless you want a more “interesting” toy. Which a D-Max is.