Environmental and societal impacts of transport policies are key determinants of sustainable future. Finnish car tax reform was enacted in 2008. The national level reform was based on EU level requirements for carbon dioxide emission reductions, ultimately aiming to promote more sustainable transport. Based on material from the dominant Finnish newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, we analyze the public discussion on the topic. By using the Environmental Protection Process (EPP) framework as a conceptual tool, we perform a quantitative content analysis on the media discussion of car tax reform. The EPP framework is an integrative tool aimed at gaining an overall view of the characteristics of environmental problems and mitigation measures. Our study suggests that societal factors, emissions, targets, measures and potential side-effects of the reform dominate the media discussion of the car tax reform. The future orientation of the discussion appears to emphasize short-term impacts over longer time perspectives. Overall, it seems that despite of relatively wide-ranging discussion, the media debate contributed only marginally to the public understanding of the prerequisites of sustainable transport.