Wow!
That is an amazing perversion of interpretation.
They present the list as if it is some "spot" check, but actually, the list has been very carefully crafted to find all the anomalies (which in itself does not prove the rules are wrong) - they are also very SPECIFICALLY compared over the first six years, not the car's lifetime.
The new VED does FOUR main things:
1) Punish higher CO2 emitters (same old same old), but as all new cars have become cleaner, the same tax take requires band re-pricing (or the VED will eventually raise nothing)
but, additional new thinking is
2) Only do this for the first year - this is to reflect the biggest environmental impact of a car is its production, and only the first owner is responsible for this and any subsequent owners should NOT be encouraged to scrap an already built car just because the road tax is too high
3) All cars use the road, so only subsidised all-electric (ZEV) get a free ride now.
4) Charge a premium on expensive cars >£40k RRP and only for the first six years [technically years 2-6] - ie taxed on apparent ability to pay, which must be better than taxing those not able to pay, again any subsequent owners should NOT be encouraged to scrap an already built car just because the road tax is too high
Some examples of why those chosen anomalies in that list:
Volvo XC90 = it costs more than £40k, that factor contributes £1,500 to the difference, the rest is the that it can't get a free ride because a massive SUV cheats the emissions tests to 49 g/km by using a battery for the first 4 miles.
Toyota Prius = current free, but now has to pay to wear and tear the roads (the original definition of hypothecated "Road Tax")
Ford Mustang, old VED was based purely on its CO2, now the above rule 2 protects it from being scrapped by future owners because of high VED.
etc etc
But although the list points out the DIFFERENCES between tax years, the "Gas-Guzzlers" even in that cherry-picked list still ALL cost more after 2017 than the most expensive "Green" cars in their cherry-picked list.
Fudging Dail Mail!
PS
a 991 Turbo S currently costs £2,090 for the first six years, from next year it will cost £3,450 for the first six years.
BUT, after year six, the VED is just £140 vs current £290
a 991 GT3 currently costs £3,6250 for the first six years, from next year it will cost £4,250 for the first six years.
BUT, after year six, the VED is just £140 vs current £505