ULEZ: how low can you go?

For some of us the, Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), or Clean Air Zone elsewhere in this country, is very real. Turn left out of your drive and you'll have to pay to drive an older car, right and you don't – it's as simple and unfair as that.

A relative with an early ‘90s Mazda MX-5 won't leave his cul de sac unless the Blade Runner camera-choppers visited the night before, and this rather cramps his style. The good news is that a used car that not only complies with the rules, but also delivers ample amounts of fun (or at least curiosity value), can be had for relatively little outlay. Best of all, assuming he doesn't want a diesel, this relative need not pay a small or even a large fortune to get the keys something interesting, as anything from 2006 onwards (if not earlier) than runs on petrol escapes the £12.50 daily charge.

First off, the Volkswagen Audi Group, as it is no longer called, produces some impressively clean and effective petrol engines. Even better when they are wrapped around something as classy like an A4 Cabriolet. There are dozens to choose from, and while it pays to be a little picky, as a lot of the cheaper examples have kaput electric roofs, my used-car radar recently homed in on a 1.8T with three previous owners and a solid 131K miles for a whisker under £1,80o, which despite being a 2004 car, meets ULEZ's criteria.

Clearly what we need is a one owner, lower mileage, well-cared-for soft-top which has not been driven into every single pot hole within an ULEZ. This takes me to North London and, against my better judgement, a 2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser, 2.4 Limited Convertible with just the one owner over 58K miles. The service history has been lost down the back of a sofa, but never mind, it’s just £995. Imagine being the centre of attention in a Low Traffic Neighbourhood in that?

Then again, if you reckon that it would be best to wear a full protective coat of identity-concealing armour every time you left the house in a Cruiser, perhaps something a tad more desirable would be a good idea. A metal folding roof to deal with every weather eventuality would be useful. Consequently, a 2005 Mercedes SLK with just 77K miles seems like a great way to travel. An example I chanced upon sits on sensible 17 inch alloys and has 9 stamps in the book, all for an asking price of £2599.

Sold, to the bloke trapped in a cul de sac with a rusty Mazda MX-5...

Not sure whether you can drive into London, Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Tyneside, never mind Glasgow? The government have helpfully provided a website to point you in the right direction to find out if you comply or not.

James Rüppert is a used-car extremist and author of The Rabbit Hole Underground Car Park