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  1. Five of the sexiest ways to avoid the new £25 congestion charge
  2. Lotus Exige S Performance Pack
  3. Land Rover Freelander TD4 HSE
  4. Mercedes-Benz SLK 350
  5. BMW 635d
  6. Audi A8 3.0 TDI quattro Sport

Audi A8 3.0 TDI quattro Sport

If you like your transport in the shape of a luxury saloon in London surely it's inevitable that you'll be paying £25 a day. Not so, there being a few luxury barges that manage to limbo under that 225g/km barrier. There's the Mercedes-Benz S320 CDI, but we'd probably opt for Audi's really rather discreet A8. There are a few A8s in the range that sneak under the 225g/km ceiling, the 2.8-litre V6 FSI being one - but with it you have to put up with Audi's rather unpleasant 7-speed Multitronic transmission and front-wheel drive only. And really, a prestigious Audi should feature quattro all-wheel drive.

Thankfully the 3.0-litre turbodiesel comes with quattro four-wheel drive, a proper, conventional automatic transmission and a 224g/km CO2 figure - meaning just £8 a day to drive in London. Just don't be tempted to opt for the LWB (long wheel base) version, as with it you'll just trip over the 225g/km threshold with a figure of 227g/km.

Tuesday February 19