Depends if you are VAT registered then you can get the VAT back on the pickup. Then you can run it as a business vehicle and claim the fuel VAT and servicing etc quarterly. If you are not VAT registered you could get any vehicle and claim running expenses against your business and wait until the annual tax return before you get the benefit. If you are turning over £85k or more you will have to sign up to making TAX digital in which you will make a tax return each quarter. Best consult an accountant to advise best route for you. Which way to go will at end of day be dictated by your expected turnover I would guess.

As far as pickups go I have an Isuzu Rodeo bought new in 2005 as private vehicle (to tow a caravan and DIY). I am now using it as business vehicle in my smallholding veg growing business started when retired from working for someone else. It would not support me changing for a new one. Given my turnover my accountant would be asking serious questions and HRMC also I reckon. It still runs well and given me little grief (famous last words) and I would go for another one.

If you are worried about your green credentials you could go for one of these.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-falgJE1xg

At end of day its down to how profitable you will be and what the business will support.

Posted By: VictorianecoCurrently vat registered using flat rate system as first year. Turnover will be approximately £300k so no issue there

Be really careful and get a decent accountant onboard just now - for the type of work that comes to mind when you say small scale remedial works I struggle to see how you get to 300k turnover in the first year, remember the adage "turnover is vanity, profit is sanity". I would try and minimise the turnover figure for a startup which is why you need a decent accountant who knows the field you are in. Van far more useful than a pickup if you are moving any sheet materials - don't buy a small van without double checking actual load bay dimensions though as some estates are have more usable space! However the first thing to do is get a decent accountant to advise what the business can support, untill then stick with your directors mileage on your own car and use a trailer on it if you require extra space. All the best in the new business!

Ditch the accountant! If the company is not yet in profit, don't spend the money on a new vehicle if the current personal vehicle is doing the job. Claiming mileage on it is likely to still be a reasonably tax efficient option.

Once the company can afford it then get yourself an EV and enjoy far better tax breaks. Your accountant should have advised you that EVs are to be zero rated BIK for this financial year, then 1% and 2% for following years. Significant savings likely compared to the pickup option.

Why a pickup and not a small van - more practical in nearly every way (unless you genuinely need an off road vehicle) than a pickup, will be better to drive, easier to park and more fuel efficient.

Be careful if the pickup is the only vehicle you have especially a 5 seater as its quite obvious that its not solely for business use and youll get hit with a benefit in kind tax bill.

>>> the least green thing you can do
+1

Simon described something like a 'Kombi' or double cab van, comes with 6 seats, back seating is flexible, a neighbour has one for dropping kids at school on the way out to her business. The mpg is fairly rubbish for a family car. Ford are just launching a plug-in hybrid Transit version with low personal tax but will be ££££ to buy. Another neighbour's employer uses van-converted Mitsu Outlander PHEVs as their works vans.

EVs are still an awful lot of £ per unit of CO2 saved, there's more effective ways to spend your £.

Don't let perverse tax incentives 'drive' you to do bad things! Better to spend a fraction of the money on: 1 an old diesel van that's right for work 2 an old diesel car that's right for home, 3 a Cycle To Work Scheme e-bike for everyone in your family who you claim to employ, and put all the rest of the money you saved into doing something green to offset 1 and 2 (invest in windfarm companies, or check the tax advantages of charitable giving or planting trees)

Oh, I thought VE is in South Wales? Sorry if my mistake. If in London then the exemptions from the various charge zones distort the choices. Old diesels tend to emit less CO2 than old petrols. Don't think there are any old petrol hybrid vans yet, there are certainly cars, but the early hybrids didn't look much better CO2 and were more money.

VE, take a look at the Ford Tourneo Connect - your requirements for 5 seats effectively means that you are not going to get any of the tax advantages of a van and you will be hit with benefit in kind taxes. You can get the seating capacity you need with decent capacity for shifting cargo when needed as well for the size of vehicle and not have to pay a fortune in BIK taxes especially if you go for the base 1L petrol model.

Posted By: djhI expect I'm behind the times, but I thought windows behind the driver meant a vehicle wasn't a 'van' for tax purposes?

I'm guessing that once you've bought it what you do to it afterwards is invisible to the taxman (though presumably you still need to get it insured properly). Morally I don't see an after purchase conversion as being any different to the pickup purchase and it's one less horribly inappropriate vehicle on the road (you might only have it for a couple of years but it's going to be on the road long term).

Posted By: WillInAberdeenIf in London then the exemptions from the various charge zones distort the choices. Old diesels tend to emit less CO2 than old petrols

Surely if this is a 'green' forum should be concerned about air quality and not just CO2. There's a reason for charges on old diesels in London and if you're in the country those dirty emissions don't just disappear.
Bristol is about to ban ALL diesels from city centre - expect other places to follow suit. Even new ones have been shown to be poor.

Posted By: willie.macleodtake a look at the Ford Tourneo Connect

This. Get the right vehicle for you not just the tax scam. Van based cars are great - enormously practical with most of the creature comforts of a modern car. We've got a VW Caddy Life - the benefit over Ford/Citroen/Purgeot/Fiat versions is a completely flat load area - seats roll forward not flat so you can fit a rubber load bay floor and sweep out the back when you need to.

Posted By: WillInAberdeenSimon, are you getting reasonable mpg from that? I'd understood that using a van as a family car, burns rather more fuel, but you never know whether to believe the figures... what is your experience?

Focus 1.5 ecoblue 120:. 80.7mpg
Tourneo 1.5 ecoblue 120:. 62.8 mpg

So. We've got the 1.4TSi petrol with auto gearbox. The combined fuel economy published for that is 49mpg. Golf estate with the same engine is published as about 54mpg. Ours reports average economy of 40mpg - we're either driving in heavy traffic to get out of London or sitting cruising at legal motorway speeds.

Firstly, they're not in any way comparable vehicles - the Maxi life is a 30cm longer, 7 seats instead of 5 and still has a boot of 530 litres (against the Golf 605). With the seats down the golf is 1620l boot - the caddy maxi is twice that - 3200L (maybe even more if you take the seats out rather than folded). Go up to the Passat and you still only get 1800L.

Secondly, better fuel economy doesn't save you much money. 10k miles a year the difference in running costs between 40mpg and 50mpg is only £300 a year.

The aerodynamics mean you're always going to have worse fuel economy that a traditional car but probably no worse than some stupid jumped up SUV and vastly more practical than either. Van based cars are the true "sport utility vehicle" - our bikes go in standing up with just the front wheel removed.

View from people I know seems to be

VW Transporter - great vans but massive 'badge tax' and latest generation nowhere near as well built as they were in the past. Still very good vans to drive with quality VW switchgear and engines.

Ford Transit - drive as well as a VW but I think someone told me about a third cheaper new (get discounted heavily whereas you get nothing on a VW). Interior not as good though.

Mercedes Vito - used to be rear wheel drive (so spun wheels when unloaded or, say, used a leisure van. Relatively small inside but Mercedes dashboard and cab and fancy leather options from the factory. Older ones were meant to rust. No idea about current model - don't know anyone who's had one.

Renault Traffic/Vauxhall equivalent. cheaper than the others. Wider internally so better for camper conversions (and you can get a mountain bike across it in a 'garage' at the back). Used to be the only one that would take an 8x4 sheet fully upright? (not sure on that last bit but definitely something about sheet capacity)

Those are all big vans though - VW Caddy (long wheelbase) much more fuel efficient and still a big load capacity.

https://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/en/new-vehicles/caddy-life.html

https://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/en/new-vehicles/caddy-kombi.html