[Kev0607]

Road tax isn't cheap on five cylinder diesel engines, thanks to our Government.

You won't be saving much road tax wise by swapping your V50 D5 for an XC70 D5. Newer XC70 D5 models appear to be £265 per annum to tax - So there isn't really much difference to what you'll be paying now, I imagine? The only real saving you'll make by buying a newer model with say a D3 engine (Still a 5 cylinder, but a newer model) for example is fuel economy. Don't forget, you have the outlay to purchase a vehicle with the newer engine though = more cost.

Older D5 engines (185bhp) are approx £300 per year to tax. Newer models like the D3's & D4's (Still 5 cylinder engines, but with different power outputs) seem to be around £265. Newer D5 engines with 205bhp & 215bhp are more or less the same cost to tax as the older 185bhp version (approx £300 per year), as they (205 & 215bhp engines) have twin turbo's (More power, but you pay for that power basically). The older 185's had a single turbo, but still remain in the higher tax band nowadays because they're older engines in comparison to other newer models available, like I've mentioned earlier. You may be asking why would an older 185bhp engine be as dear as a much newer model, its because its old & the Government charge more to keep them on the road. The same for the high powered variants with twin turbo's (you pay more for them too).

So basically, if you're planning to purchase a newer model to lower your road tax per annum, then it won't reduce by as much as you may think (It could increase!). Yes you'll have a newer car if you decide to go down that route with a newer style engine (depending on the year/model you go for), but that's going to cost you a fair bit of money to do so to save a minimal amount per annum on your road tax, if you save anything at all. Like I said before, the real saving in these newer D5's is fuel.