Need a pick up?

When we visited Colorado, USA, in 2001, one of the many things that struck me was the proliferation of pick up trucks or just “trucks” as the Americans called them. At the time we didn’t really see them on UK roads but most American families seemed to run two vehicles – a family saloon and a truck. You could see why they were so popular there (wide roads, lots of snow, cheap petrol) but also why they weren’t here.

But now the double cab often with hard top canopy is a common sight on our roads and not just driven by builders but white collar workers and parents on the school run and there are plenty of reasons why. In one sense it’s all the car you’ll ever need – room for a family and all the boot space to go camping with a dog plus they have a great high up seating position and look really imposing. It’s the tax benefits that can be the big selling point as VAT is fully reclaimable if it’s a business lease as they are classed as commercial vehicles (only 50% can be reclaimed for cars) and in many cases there’s no benefit in kind tax for the driver if the payload is over a tonne (discuss with your accountant whether you qualify though).

However, there are some factors to be aware of that may make it an unwise decision

1) These are BIG cars. What feels imposing to drive on the road and takes your mother-in-law’s holiday luggage with ease can be a nightmare to park. Many parking spaces are only around 2m or a little more wide. Guess how wide the Nissan Navara Double Cab is? Yep, just over 2m. It’s also over 5m long – longer than many spaces (you must have noticed the pick ups sticking out at the supermarket).

2) These are HEAVY, not very aerodynamic and most are at least part-time four wheel drive and therefore not very economical with even official figures struggling to get much over 40mpg. Compare that to a diesel SUV or estate which may achieve up to or over 50% more per gallon and those tax benefits start to be eroded somewhat.

So I don’t think we’ll be seeing a truck on every drive but for many, no doubt, the benefits will outweigh the disadvantages and sales will continue to rise. Just make sure your test drive route includes Sainsbury’s car park!

If you’d like to know more about how leasing works and how it could work for you, please get in touch. If you think others would be interested in this post, please share it.

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Matt Spivey

Vehicle Leasing Neva Consultants

Left the corporate world in 2013 after ten years at Vodafone and now specialising in car and van leasing with Neva Consultants.Serial networker and member of BNI Wakefield Wealthbuilders, 4Networking and The TradesHub Academy South Yorkshire.