With car tax rates rising from 1 April, drivers are braced for yet another increase in motoring costs alongside rocketing fuel prices.
But the hikes to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) ordered by Chancellor Rachel Reeves will hit some drivers far harder than others.
While owners of electric vehicles will barely experience any inflation in car tax for the 2026-27 financial year, buyers of high-emitting new petrol and diesel models will be hammered with levies that run into the thousands of pounds.
And the worst impacted are new cars with recorded CO2 emissions above 255 grams per kilometre.
First-year 'showroom' tax rates for these vehicles has been hiked by £200 from today to an eye-watering £5,690.
With the help of car valuations experts Solera Cap Hpi, we detail which 45 models in showrooms currently - and how many 'trim' derivatives of each - are snared by this whopping tax sting.
There are 45 different new car models on sale today that will be stung by the highest 'showroom tax' rate of £5,690
According to exclusive analysis of today's new car market, Daily Mail and This is Money reveals that five per cent of model trims on sale in dealers fall into this highest tax band.
Some 256 examples out of 5,288 options are levied at the highest rate. This is not including pick-ups, which are classed as commercial vehicles in Britain.
The reason taxation has reached such staggering levels is the result of Reeves doubling first-year VED rates 12 months ago.
Increasing the rates by 100 per cent was concealed as a green decision to deter people from choosing polluting cars and instead switch to EVs.
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How much is your car tax going up this year? Vehicle excise duty hiked by as much as £200 for some motors
But the reality is it has become a tax on those who can afford some of the most powerful performance cars on the road, with the list of affected models including a raft of Aston Martins, Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Rolls-Royces.
But there too are relatively attainable vehicles from non-prestige manufacturers that fall into the clutches of this massive tax grab.
We have picked out seven examples that fall into this category.
Using the list price (which includes VAT and delivery charges but excludes showroom tax costs) show just how much taxation compares to the total cost of the car itself.
A full list of all 45 models that fall into the highest tax bands - and every derivative of each that will be stung by a £5,690 first-year VED cost - is detailed below.
VED FIRST YEAR 'SHOWROOM TAX' RATES FOR CARS REGISTERED AFTER 1 APRIL 2026 Emissions (g/km) CO2 First-year VED for new petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric cars Increase 0 £10 £0 1-50 £115 £5 51-75 £135 £5 76-90 £280 £10 91-100 £365 £15 101-110 £405 £15 111-130 £455 £15 131-150 £560 £20 151-170 £1,410 £50 171-190 £2,270 £80 191-225 £3,420 £120 226-255 £4,850 £170 Over 255 £5,690 £200
1. Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio
List price: £90,345
CO2 emissions: 267g/km
Alfa Romeo's sporty Stelvio Quadirifoglio SUV is one example of a model not from a premium luxury brand that will be stung by the highest showroom car tax sting
Alfa Romeo's Stelvio SUV might be a sensible family car in standard form. However, the Quadrifoglio example - powered by a 527bhp 2.9 V6 bi-turbo petrol engine - is anything of the sort.
This super-SUV can accelerate from zero to 62mph in just 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of 177mph.
But this one variant of the Stelvio also puts out 267g/km CO2, placing it in the highest VED band. As such, any that's registered from 1 April 2026 will cost £5,690 to tax for the first year, which is equivalent to 6.3 per cent of the Alfa's £90,345 retail price. Alfa's sister brand Maserati recently culled its Levante SUV from the range - its V8 variants would too have been hit with the highest VED rate.
2. Ford Mustang
List price: from £52,925
CO2 emissions: 275-282g/km
The Mustang is Britain's most affordable new model with a V8 engine, starting from £53,000. But with its high CO2 emissions, examples registered after 1 April will cost £5,690 to tax
Ford's iconic Mustang pony car is among the five relatively attainable motors caught in the highest tax band, thanks to its high CO2 emissions of 275g/km and above.
The new seventh-generation American muscle car is only the second to be sold in Britain as a genuine - right-hand-drive - UK model. But Ford has decided to ditch the four-cylinder Ecoboost engine option and will sell only the 5.0-litre V8.
It's the cheapest V8 sold on these shores, but first-year VED at £5,690 is equivalent to 10.8 per cent of a Mustang's £52,925 entry price. In total, there are six derivatives - two convertibles and four fastback coupes - that are subject to the highest VED rate.
3. Ineos Grenadier
List price: from £56,950
CO2 emissions: 283-328g/km
The Ineos Grenadier, with both the petrol and diesel engine, will fall into the highest VED band, meaning a 'showroom tax' in the first year of £5,690
This won't make pleasant reading for Ineos' billionaire boss, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. His first automotive product, the Grenadier, is one of the five cars we've picked out as being clobbered by Reeves' doubling of first-year VED rates from next year.
This is the case for both the petrol and diesel 3.0-litre straight-six BMW-supplied engines. For a standard Grenadier, entry pricing for the unleaded and oil burner is the same, both with a list price starting from £59,950.
With CO2 outputs of 283 to 328g/km, first-year VED is equivalent to as much as 9.5 per cent of the P11D value. Eight Grenadier variants in total are impacted.
4. Jeep Wrangler Rubicon
List price: £60,425
CO2 emissions: 269g/km
The range-topping Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, which has a list price of just over £60k, is another car that sits in the highest VED banding
Anyone ordering a new Jeep Wrangler - which isn't that many people in the UK, in the grand scheme of things - as of 1 April 2026 will be inclined to dodge the Rubicon derivative, as its CO2 output of 269g/km lands it well within the £5,690 first-year VED tax band.
It means car tax is 9.4 per cent of the vehicle's list price.
If they choose the lower of two trims - called Sahara - with the same 2.0-litre petrol engine and emissions of 250g/km CO2, it drops down by one band in the VED standings. Even then, buyers will have to fork out £4,850 in VED for the first 12 months.
5. Land Rover Defender V8
List price: from £67,180
CO2 emissions: 298-325g/km
Buy a new V8 petrol engined Land Rover Defender from today and expect to be paying almost £6,000 for first-year VED
The new Land Rover Defender has been a real success story for the British marque; it's the manufacturers best-selling model since entering the market in 2020, and by some distance.
But buyers tempted by the gutsy 4.4 and 5.0-litre V8 options might be slightly put off by its outrageously high first-year tax cost.
With emissions of 298 to 325g/km CO2, it is miles above the 255g/km threshold. However, given the £67,5180 starting price for the Defender P425 X-Dynamic trim, that tax outlay for the first 12 months is equivalent to as much as 8.5 per cent of the car's value.
6. Porsche Macan S/GTS
List price: from £63,000
CO2 emissions: 260-283g/km (if fitted with largest wheels)
The Macan S and GTS variants can both easily fall into the highest VED band if a customer chooses simple options, like bigger wheels
Porsche is set to axe the petrol versions of the Macan next year, with the Macan Electric becoming the lone option.
And while the Macan EVs will cost just £10 for road tax in the first 12 months, the combustion Macan S and GTS variants could cost £5,690.
For the 375bhp Macan S - with a twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 engine - the CO2 emissions range is 251 to 265g/km. This is dependent on the size of the wheels you choose. It's also the same case for the GTS version.
7. Toyota Land Cruiser diesel
List price: from £72,300
CO2 emissions: 276-282g/km
The diesel Toyota Land Cruiser 4X4 is another example of a relatively mainstream vehicles snared by the Chancellor's car tax sting
Toyota's Land Cruiser 4X4 is another example of a non-prestige model that's hammered by incredibly high first-year VED tax rates.
Its mild-hybrid 2.9-litre diesel engine puts out between 276 and 282g/km CO2 across three trim levels, putting them all into the highest car tax band of all.
As such, taxation is equivalent to 7.9 per cent of the value of the SUV itself.
All 45 new cars that will cost £5,690 to tax this year
Alfa Romeo Stelvio (1)
Aston Martin DB12 (2)
Aston Martin DBX (1)
Aston Martin Vanquish (2)
Aston Martin Vantage (4)
Audi RS6 Avant (5)
Audi RS Q8 (6)
Audi SQ8 (3)
Bentley Bentayga (30)
BMW 5 Series (2)
BMW X5 (2)
BMW X6 (3)
BMW X7 (4)
Chevrolet Corvette (8)
Ferrari Purosangue (1**)
Ford Mustang (6)
Ineos Grenadier (8)
Jeep Wrangler (1)
Lamborghini Huracan Evo (6)
Lamborghini Revuelto (1)
Lamborghini Temerario (2)
Land Rover Defender (40)
Land Rover Range Rover (9)
Land Rover Range Rover Sport (6)
Lotus Emira (7)
Maserati MC20/MCPura (6)
McLaren 750S (2)
McLaren GT (1)
Mercedes AMG GT (11)
Mercedes AMG PureSpeed (1)
Mercedes G-Class (5)
Mercedes GLE (3)
Mercedes GLS (5)
Mercedes S-Class (4)
Mercedes SL (3)
Porsche 718 Cayman (1)
Porsche 718 Spyder (1)
Porsche 911 (8)
Porsche Cayenne (12*)
Porsche Macan (2*)
Porsche Panamera (2)
Rolls-Royce Cullinan (4)
Rolls-Royce Ghost (12)
Rolls-Royce Phantom (8)
Toyota Land Cruiser (3)
Source: Solera Cap Hpi
Brackets show number of derivatives per model that are in the highest first-year VED tax band
*Derivatives exceed 255g/km C02 when bigger wheels are added as an optional extra
**Examples effectively sold out for 2026-27 fiscal year
