THE Renault Vel Satis will go on sale in the UK on April 12 priced from £20,730 to £30,255 on-the-road.

The radically styled new executive car will come with a choice of 165bhp 2.0-litre turbo or 245bhp 3.5-litre V6 petrol engines or 150bhp 2.2 dCi or 180bhp 3.0 V6 dCi, with diesel models offering reduced benefit-in-kind tax liability over petrol equivalents.

The car has slightly higher list prices than the equivalent Peugeot 607 with the Vel Satis 2.0T Expression costing £20,730 compared with £19,795 for the 607 2.2S. The entry level Vel Satis is also £1,300 less than the 170bhp Volvo S80 2.4S, which Renault hopes the car will match both in UK sales next year and in future residual values.

Early figures from CAP Network over three-years/ 60,000-miles forecast that the four-cylinder petrol and diesel Vel Satis will have respectable RVs at 31% and 32% respectively, with the V6s performing closer to volume manufacturer rivals such as the 607 and Vauxhall Omega. Model - OTR price - CO2 - Tax band (%) -Tax due (40%)- CAP RV (3yrs/60k)

2.0T 16v Expression - £20,730 – 225 – 27 - £2,219 - 31%
2.0T 16v Privilege - £22,430 – 225 - 27 - £2,403 - 31%
3.5 V6 Privilege auto - £27,850 – 275 – 35 - £3,874 - 25%
3.5 V6 Initiale auto - £30,850 – 275 – 35 - £4,294 - 25%
2.2 dCi Expression - £21,385 – 188 – 22 - £1,866 - 32%
2.2 dCi Privilege - £23,085 – 188 – 22 - £2,015 - 32%
3.0 V6 dCi Privilege auto - £27,255 – 232 – 31 - £3,357 - 29%
3.0 V6 dCi Initiale auto - £30,255 – 232 – 31 - £3,729 - 28%.