Is a landrover 90 station wagon a car or commercial vehicle?

hi all,
I am currently looking at purchasing a defender 90 sw and am a bit confused about the different classifications regarding the tax and registration. I am fairly new to defenders and just trying to get to grips with it all to ensure I make an educated decision when buying.
something I wanted to clear up first of all is, do 90 station wagons come under N1 and if so is it possible to change and register it as a car (M1). I am wanting to buy for personal use and do require the extra seats in the back and with my age commercial insurance is significantly more. with regards to this I am also looking at buying a td5 model or 300tdi whether that makes a difference being an earlier model. sorry if I come across as a bit thick, I am just trying to get my head round things.
thanks

I think with the introduction of the Puma variant all Defenders were classed as commercial. Before this, it depends on what’s on the V5. A station wagon should be a private vehicle, but they seemed to make it up as they went along. You won’t know until you see the v5 and changing its classification with DVLA may be problematic.

bluedog333 said:

I think with the introduction of the Puma variant all Defenders were classed as commercial. Before this, it depends on what’s on the V5. A station wagon should be a private vehicle, but they seemed to make it up as they went along. You won’t know until you see the v5 and changing its classification with DVLA may be problematic.

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yeh it's all very confusing and does seem that they do that. once I start to go and view options I will look more in depth. thanks

Csw had slidding windows and alpine glass at the top each side. SW would be similar to the commercial vehicles except for side windows none sliding. The v5 can be registered as commercial but few people add the side windows without seats such as bench variety.

Around about 2008 JLR got the dvla to agree that the station wagons would be registered as light goods vehicles, this gave the advantage of lower road tax - currently about £260 per annum compared to double that if registered as a car. The downside is that light good vehicles get hammered for congestion charges, bridge tolls (ie Dartford crossing) and low emission zones.
Edit; you can check the type approval by going into the gov.uk website to check if a vehicle is taxed, you just need the vehicles registration number.

Wimblowdriver said:

Around about 2008 JLR got the dvla to agree that the station wagons would be registered as light goods vehicles, this gave the advantage of lower road tax - currently about £260 per annum compared to double that if registered as a car. The downside is that light good vehicles get hammered for congestion charges, bridge tolls (ie Dartford crossing) and low emission zones.
Edit; you can check the type approval by going into the gov.uk website to check if a vehicle is taxed, you just need the vehicles registration number.

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eh? My Land Rover is a PLG and I pay the same for the dartford crossing as my actual car

smitb said:

hi all,
I am currently looking at purchasing a defender 90 sw and am a bit confused about the different classifications regarding the tax and registration. I am fairly new to defenders and just trying to get to grips with it all to ensure I make an educated decision when buying.
something I wanted to clear up first of all is, do 90 station wagons come under N1 and if so is it possible to change and register it as a car (M1). I am wanting to buy for personal use and do require the extra seats in the back and with my age commercial insurance is significantly more. with regards to this I am also looking at buying a td5 model or 300tdi whether that makes a difference being an earlier model. sorry if I come across as a bit thick, I am just trying to get my head round things.
thanks

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Ignore what is on the actual vehicle, people bolt on all kinds of stuff.

What is on the V5 is the taxation class, and DVLA will be very reluctant to change it.

Most were originally registered as PLG, which I think is now the M1 that you mention. Some were registered as commercial, because they were bought as new by businesses, for business use.

flat said:

eh? My Land Rover is a PLG and I pay the same for the dartford crossing as my actual car

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Class for my tdci station wagon is N1. I always got charged the commercial rate at the Dartford crossing. Both when they had pay booths and later now it is done by cameras and online account. But I benefit from lower road tax.

Just did a bit of checking on the gov.uk website regarding taxation classes. My defender is a class N1 which is a light goods vehicle (despite being a station wagon as it left the factory). Under 3500kg, so standard road tax of £275. If it was classed as a diesel car, it would be taxed on its emissions, which would be £600 a year. (I thought it was PLG class, I think that is outdated and now termed LGV).

Turboman said:

Ignore what is on the actual vehicle, people bolt on all kinds of stuff.

What is on the V5 is the taxation class, and DVLA will be very reluctant to change it.

Most were originally registered as PLG, which I think is now the M1 that you mention. Some were registered as commercial, because they were bought as new by businesses, for business use.

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So is it not possible to register it as M1?

Wimblowdriver said:

Just did a bit of checking on the gov.uk website regarding taxation classes. My defender is a class N1 which is a light goods vehicle (despite being a station wagon as it left the factory). Under 3500kg, so standard road tax of £275. If it was classed as a diesel car, it would be taxed on its emissions, which would be £600 a year. (I thought it was PLG class, I think that is outdated and now termed LGV).

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Probably a stupid question then but since it’s n1 do you have to adhere to van speed limits like 50mph on single carriage way etc.?

smitb said:

Probably a stupid question then but since it’s n1 do you have to adhere to van speed limits like 50mph on single carriage way etc.?

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Of course I do officer, honest guv. Seriously, I think I am supposed to, but as my driving style these days is pootling along its not a problem. And I doubt that on the odd occasion I stray above the van limit its never been a problem. And my reg plate is a private plate from 2001, when station wagons were classed as cars. So I doubt a following police car would care.

smitb said:

So is it not possible to register it as M1?

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Don't know, I have never tried. Phone call to DVLA may inform.

Wimblowdriver said:

Of course I do officer, honest guv. Seriously, I think I am supposed to, but as my driving style these days is pootling along its not a problem. And I doubt that on the odd occasion I stray above the van limit its never been a problem. And my reg plate is a private plate from 2001, when station wagons were classed as cars. So I doubt a following police car would care.

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So if I take a private plate off a Rolls Royce, does that make my Landy a Rolls Royce?

lt's a bit of a minefield

After 2011 all Defenders are classed as Commercial

Before that, genuine Station Wagons (rear seats/windows) are classed as cars, but any Station Wagon post March 2006 pays the highest rate road tax, currently around £600

Anything post 2011 (Puma 2.2 and a few very late 2.4's) pays the commercial vehicle rate, around £260

Pre March 2006 it's different, you pay around £360 for a genuine Station Wagon and pre 2001 l think it's different again, a fixed rate of around £230.

It's very unlikely the DVLA will change the classification because many people did it to avoid the congestion charges.

You have to remember that these older high polluting diesels are the vehicles the govt wants rid of.
We all know that in the bigger picture a Defender is more environmentally friendly than a Toyota Prius etc
But that's not taken into account by the DVLA

lf you think your Defender has the incorrect classification then by all means contact the DVLA, but best of luck with that one.

YOUR BEST BET is just ask the seller/dealer of your chosen Defender how much the road tax is, and that will be how much you will pay.

smitb said:

Probably a stupid question then but since it’s n1 do you have to adhere to van speed limits like 50mph on single carriage way etc.?

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Yes you do! It really annoys other road users but for us N1 commercial 90 drivers we must obey the law

Oh yes, and that as well. Has anyone on here been done for speeding in a Commercial?

While it's highly unlikely the rozzers will stop you, the ANPR roadside and overhead cameras take no prisoners and your fine/3 points will drop through the letter box after a few days

If this was AG I'd say.. it's a landy

lightning said:

Oh yes, and that as well. Has anyone on here been done for speeding in a Commercial?

While it's highly unlikely the rozzers will stop you, the ANPR roadside and overhead cameras take no prisoners and your fine/3 points will drop through the letter box after a few days

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I brought mine new in 2011, Land Rover registered it as a LGV ( I don't remember having a choice ), and I've driven to car limits, not vans through Motorway cameras and the like for over 10 years and never had anything.

Probably jinxed myself now...

My understanding is that Defenders 90 and 110 should be ok on car speed limits as they qualify as dual purpose vehicles due to 4WD.There is a weight limit so 130 may not qualify.