For the unfamiliar on this side of the Atlantic, the city of London tries to keep traffic congestion down in the heart of the city by charging certain kinds of vehicles a Congestion Charge of as much as £10 a day. However, if you drive a high-efficiency or zero-emission vehicle such as a hybrid or [...] More...
How does driving a diesel or hybrid reduce traffic congestion? Other people can't stand to be around you because you're so smug about your car choice so they avoid the city like the plague? and I love this..."This exemption does not apply to the new MINI Cooper S Diesel, at least not yet, and qualifying cars still have to pay £10 annually for the privilege of not paying £10 daily" Those wacky Brits!
That's quite clever of Motoringfile to know that, seeing as the MCSD hasn't been released and so its CO2 figures aren't public.... But, hey, we're wacky. (I expect the £10 annual charge would be to pay for registering your exempt vehicle's details on the Congestion Charge system - London is ringed with automatic cameras that send you a fine if you don't pay the charge, so I guess you have to register that you're one of the beautiful people.)