The best pickup truck to lease? It’s not just cars (via the CarLease team) which we supply, our VanLease team help supply our customers with the commercial vehicle leasing deals too. Not unlike cars, the world of vans and trucks has become equally price competitive and manufacturers now fight to produce the best-loved vehicles for the working people/companies of Britain. Traditionally, many companies were content with a vehicle which had 4 wheels and enough space for storage of tools and products; fast forward a few years and you now have commercial vehicles with the same specification as the car equivalents. It’s now common for customers to ask about leather, parking sensors, Bluetooth, climate control, heated front seats and climate control. If you are going down the van route, why not be more comfortable with what you are driving?
So why are small businesses going to lease a truck? For those pickups with a payload of 1 tonne (1000kg) or more they are classified as a commercial vehicle for tax purposes. A payload is the gross vehicle weight (GVW) less the unoccupied kerb weight. This means that you need to consider any options which are going to influence the payload, like a hardtop, otherwise this could stop the vehicle being classified as a commercial vehicle. This is crucial for anyone conscious of their tax position. For any company purchasing their commercial vehicles, they can claim back 100% of the purchase price via the Annual Investment Allowance. For contract hire/finance lease, you can claim 100% of the rentals against corporation tax, so for every month you pay a rental, you can deduct this from your tax bill. However, this presumes no private use. For those VAT registered companies so long as there it no private use and no exempt turnover you can recover 100% of the VAT on the finance rentals and any maintenance rentals. In contrast a car does limit a company in what it can reclaim; unless the CO2 is 110g/km or less, only 85% of the rentals are allowable against tax and up to 50% of the VAT can be reclaimed.
Notwithstanding the practical benefits of a pickup truck (load space, roof rails and elevated driving position) there is one main benefit to a limited company – company car tax. Unlike a car, the commercial vehicle is treated a little differently for tax. For 2019/20 a taxable benefit of £3,430 applies, so if you are a 20% tax payer this will be £817 and for a 40% tax payer this will be £1,634 per year. If you compare this to a car, which uses the P11d/CO2 and a driver’s income tax bracket, you will note that you are potentially saving thousands of pounds per year by using a pickup rather than a car. For engineers, surveyors and any involved with a “site” the truck is a nice balance of a commercial vehicle with car comforts. When you add in the tax benefits, you can understand why these vehicles are so popular; yes a car is much more comfortable, and economical, but if you are operating in difficult terrains and need to present the “working” image, a pickup truck may be a great solution.
Before committing to any vehicle, do speak with your accountant first. As ever, we suggest that both personal and business customers review the whole of life cost and use the data to reach a decision which meets their needs and requirements. You have to consider the finance, maintenance, fuel, insurance and taxation costs associated with a vehicle in order to reach the right conclusion.
In terms of the vehicle shown, the Mercedes-Benz X Class Special Editions 250d 4Matic Element Double Cab Pickup (Auto Diesel), this is based on the following configuration:
- Kabara Black Metallic Paint
- Comfort pack – Artico man-made leather/Microfibre Dinamica – Black
- 19” Alloy Wheels
As standard the special edition element includes the following key features:
Exclusive ELEMENT features:
- Style Pack (including tinted rear windows, roof rails, side bars, electric rear window, LED headlights and 19” multi spoke alloys)
- Comfort PACK (including ARTICO leather with DINAMICA microfiber upholstery and THERMOTRONIC automatic climate control)
- Black roof liner
- Load bed liners
- Sports bar
- Exclusive Element livery.
Exterior features
- Radiator grille with integrated Mercedes-Benz Star and 2 bars finished in matt iridium silver
- Front bumper painted in the vehicle colour with simulated underguard in matt black
- Rear bumper painted in the vehicle colour with integrated step
- Chrome door handles
- Heated and adjustable exterior mirrors
- Anchoring rail system on both sides of the load area
- Rear bumper with integrated step
- Front fog lights
- Electrically adjustable exterior mirrors
- Tie-down loops (x4)
- LED load area lighting.
Interior features
- Round air vents finished in chrome
- Instrument dials with round covers
- Multi-function black nappa leather steering wheel with 12 buttons and chrome highlights
- Leather gear-shift lever and handbrake lever
- Carpet flooring
- Automatically dimming interior mirror with integrated compass
- function
- Illuminated sun visors on the driver’s and co-driver’s side
- Lighting for the front footwell with exit lamps
- Aluminium door sills featuring “Mercedes-Benz” lettering
- Rain sensor
- 8-speaker sound system
- Multi-function steering wheel with 12 buttons
- i-Size and ISOFIX with Top Tether child restraint system for the outer rear seats
- Audio 20 CD infotainment with 7.0-inch high definition screen, rotary controller with touchpad, Bluetooth® audio and media interface
- Reverse camera.
The X-Class ELEMENT is available in 3 Body Paints-Chisana White, Kabara Black Metallic, Diamond Silver Metallic
On the technical-side, please note the list price at £36,665.00. The 2298CC 7 speed auto diesel engine delivers 190ps, 0-62 times of 11.8 seconds and extra urban MPG of 40.0.
So would you select the X-Class as your next pickup leasing deal? Or would the Mitsubishi L200, Nissan Navara or Ford Ranger be your preferred option?
