LOGGING on to the Vehicle Certification Agency site feels the same as walking into a supermarket for the first time knowing what you want, but not having a clue where it is.

The site does its best to take the user through a stepped introduction to the organisation and its offering. The VCA is the UK’s approval authority for new road vehicles and is an executive agency of the Department for Transport.

The key area is the ‘Car/fuel CO2’ data section. It opens a new browser for the site www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk. Click on ‘Database’ and from this page you can search for all available models’ fuel consumption and emission figures by make or model, company car tax percentage, VED band, type of alternative fuel and by mpg figures.

It uses drop-down menus allowing users to refine searches. For example, searching by car tax percentage, users select the CO2 emission total, then can search by all the vehicles emitting that amount. It’s the same for each type of search. Users can also choose the way the results are displayed by column headings. So, the CO2 emission totals can be displayed low to high or all petrol models displayed together.

The ‘More Information’ link with each model listed offers a host of information on a derivative including mpg rates, transmission type, various emission levels and fuel costs over 6,000 miles.

Users wishing to have the entire database on paper can select ‘Downloads’ and options appear to save it in various formats such as Excel and Access. Give this site time and the rewards will outweigh the downsides. And it is being redesigned so it could be a whole lot better very soon. Jeremy Bennett

The lowdown

The site: www.vca.gov.uk

We like

Perfect for a fleet decision-maker whose choice-list is governed by carbon-dioxide emissions and Euro III/IV considerations

We don’t like

You will need to dedicate time to the site to get the best out of it