Sedan Advice

Remarkably, there is a question I've been asked more often than "would you like fries with that?" or even "are you George Clooney?" And that question is "what's the best car you've ever driven?"

Japanese makes have to close the books on their financial year — get in for these deals before the end of the month. March is the second-biggest month of the year for new-car sales — as Japanese brands have one last sales push to close off their books for the end of the Japanese financial year. Almost every other brand in the Top 10 must also have a crack if they don't want to be left behind, which is why Holden and Hyundai and others are out there with sharp deals to lure buyers away from Japanese showrooms. A lot of the deals will seem similar to the January offers, as dealers are still trying to clear 2015-built stock. But prices and/or other bonuses have been sharpened even further on a few models. Here are the best deals as we see them. Small cars Among the tiny tots, the Suzuki Celerio is still the cheapest in the business at $12,990 drive-away with automatic transmission, while the Mitsubishi Mirage is also sharp buying for $1000 more, at $13,990 drive-away with auto, including a standard five-year factory warranty. Need the next size up? The Suzuki Swift hatchback is still at an incredibly low $15,990 drive-away with auto. That's about $4000 off retail and $2000 less than the sharply discounted Toyota Yaris, which continues at an appealing $17,990 drive-away with auto ($3000 off RRP). With the popular Hyundai i20 all but sold out, Hyundai has now taken the knife to the Accent to help drive sales. It is $15,990 drive-away with auto (this offer isn't clear on the website, but that's the deal if you ask before the end of the month, a saving of $4500). Need something a little roomier? As anticipated, Hyundai is back with a super sharp price on the i30 hatch at $19,990 drive-away including automatic transmission, rear-view camera and five-year warranty. It's unbeatable at this price. Deals are usually rare on top-sellers. But Toyota has shifted its discount from the dearer Corolla Ascent Sport to the regular Ascent, which is $21,990 drive-away with CVT auto this month. That's $2000 less than the previous Corolla offer. SUVs Our eyes popped when we saw this deal. The updated Holden Captiva5 (with the new look and Apple CarPlay) is an astonishingly low $25,990 drive-away. The seven-seater Captiva7 is $29,990 drive-away. The Captiva may be overdue for replacement but this is the most metal for the money in the class. Need something smaller? The city-sized Holden Trax SUV is $23,990 drive-away with auto and free servicing until 2020. At that price, who cares what it looks like? The Mitsubishi ASX remains at $25,000 drive-away with auto, rear camera and five-year factory warranty. No wonder it's one of Mitsubishi's top sellers. This is $5000 off the original RRP but it's been this price for so long it's worth pointing out it's still $3000 less than its direct rivals. Utes Need a cheap work ute? The Isuzu D-Max with dropside tray is still the sharpest tradies' diesel at $25,990 drive-away. Pay $1000 more ($26,990 drive-away) if you want a Mazda BT-50 diesel with a dropside tray or pay $2000 more ($27,990 drive-away) if you want the new Toyota HiLux with black wheels and a smaller tray but that bulletproof Toyota badge. Need a new four-door 4WD ute but don't want to wait three months for a top-of-the-range Ford Ranger or Toyota HiLux? Get the Toyota HiLux Workmate dual-cab 4WD at $43,990 drive-away. Dead set bargain. And with the money you save, you can afford to replace the ugly black wheels. Don't mind the gangly looks of the new Mitsubishi Triton? That $36,990 drive-away deal on the GLX four-door 4WD just got better for March. It includes free auto (as well as the camera and alloys), which is about $5000 off full freight. Decent. Honourable mention It's not a small car, an SUV or a ute (our biggest categories) but if you want a sedan, Toyota is trying to clear the 5300 Camrys it declared as sold in December 2015: it is still $27,990 drive-away, with zero interest. Red hot price on a solid car.

Does the Mazda6 have a timing belt or a timing chain and does it really matter?  The current Mazda6 has a timing chain and yes, it certainly matters. Got two minutes? Let me explain. First up, the current Mazda6 has a choice of two engines: a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and a 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol. Both use a chain and so does the 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel which used to be offered on this model. Now, a timing chain or belt has the important job in an engine of connecting the crankshaft to the camshaft(s) and controls the opening and closing of the valves which let the air-fuel mixture into the cylinder and the exhaust gas out. Timing chains have been used in engines longer than belts, and they're considered to be better because of their strength and durability. Rubber belts are cheaper than chains to make, but they stretch and deteriorate over time, and need to be replaced. In the case of the latest Mazda6 the chain is designed to be used for the lifetime of the engine – there is no periodic maintenance or replacement needed. So, there you have it: the Mazda6 has a timing chain and that’s something to be pleased about.

Change is good for you, they say, and possibly even as good as a holiday, but no one can know for sure if your car feels that strongly about it.

In days of yore, when vehicles were simple, it was quite common for men, and women, who liked the feeling of oil on their skin and tools in their hands to do simple car maintenance, like changing oil and filters, themselves. In the modern world, however, this has become something of an anachronism, partly because oil changes just aren’t required quite as often, and partly because we all just tend to get out cars serviced regularly by professionals. If you want to change the oil yourself in your Toyota Corolla, however, because you’re a DIY kind of person, you’ll need to know how often to change the oil and the oil filter. You might not want to try and do the whole service yourself, because a mechanic at a service centre is going to be better equipped and know more about your car’s specifications. As far as changing Toyota Corolla oil goes, however, you’ll need to know what type of oil it needs, and how often to change that oil. Our helpful tables will allow you to work this out, because there are an awful lot of Corollas and things do change over the years and model changes. What we can tell you in simple terms is that you need to change oil on a Toyota Corolla every six months, or 10,000km, whichever one comes first, and that the instructions for doing so will be in the manual included with your car. That was the case with Corollas sold right up until last year, and if you’ve got a 2018 model Corolla hatch, you can take it easy, because your oil only needs changing every 12 months or 15,000km. Your 2018 Toyota Corolla will require 4.6 litres of oil if you’re also changing the oil filter, or 4.3 litres if you’re not. If you have a 2018 or 2019 Corolla Hybrid you also get the 12 months/15,000km change period, and you’ll need 4.2 litres with the filter or 3.9 litres without. All Corollas of model years up to and including 2017 will need 4.2 litres of oil with the filter change, or 3.9 litres without. Obviously Toyota gives you both of those figures because you can choose to replace the filter or not, but it is recommended that you change the oil filter with each oil change.     If I want to change the oil myself, how do I do it? Here are the details, from our own resident mechanical expert, Iain Kelly: As with any maintenance task, if you're unsure of completing it successfully, our best advice is to use the services of a professional mechanic. If an oil change isn't done correctly, you risk significant mechanical and financial damage, along with serious safety concerns. If you're hell bent on giving it a go yourself, the process for changing the oil in a Corolla is the same as pretty much any other car. Look up what grade of oil your car needs and how much oil capacity it has, all of which is listed in your owner's manual, and purchase a brand new oil filter.  Drive the car for approximately 10 minutes to ensure the oil is warm as this makes it easier to drain. Park the car on a level surface, open the bonnet and loosen the oil filler cap so it is just resting on top of the filler tube, then slide a drain tray underneath your engine.  There will be a small flap in the undertray to be undone so you can access the oil drain plug with a ring spanner or socket.  Undo the sump plug with a wrench, being careful not to burn yourself as the hot oil rushes out into the drain tray. Let it drain for 10 minutes, then do up the sump plug with a new washer and being careful not to over-tighten the plug - do it snug, then turn it another quarter-turn.  Slide the drain pan under the oil filter and remove this again being cautious to not splash hot oil on yourself. Before installing the new oil filter check the rubber seal came off with the old filter, then smear a little fresh oil on the new filter's rubber seal before winding it on and doing it up a quarter-turn past snug.  Fill the engine with fresh oil as per the owner's manual. Once you have replaced the oil filler cap and confirmed there is no oil leaking out, start the engine, let it warm up and then check the oil level as per the above procedure.  If you cannot reach under your car to undo the oil filter or sump drain plug, use the factory jacking points recommended in the owner's manual to lift the car off the ground at the front and rear, lifting the front first, and use four weight-rated chassis stands to support the car at the factory recommended support points. Do not use the scissor jack in the boot for this job.   What do I do if the engine oil-pressure-warning light comes on? This is bad. Not just “oh, there’s a warning light” bad, but quite worryingly bad.  Do not pass Go, do not drive until you find a Toyota dealer. Pull over, stop your car in a safe place and call your roadside assistance provider, Toyota dealer, or your mechanic, for advice, because if the oil pressure is too low you could be about to destroy your engine. And that’s expensive.     Checking the oil level 1. Park the vehicle on level ground. After turning off the engine, wait more than five minutes for the oil to drain back into the bottom of the engine.  2. Hold a rag under the end and pull the dipstick out.  3. Wipe the dipstick clean.  4. Flat dipstick: Reinsert the dipstick fully. Non flat dipstick: Reinsert the non-flat dipstick fully with its protruding areas pointing towards the engine.  5. Holding a rag under the end, pull the dipstick out and check the oil level.  6. Wipe the dipstick and reinsert it fully.  N.B. There are two oil level markings, the one near the end is the 'low' indicator, the one further up the dipstick is the 'full' indicator.    2007 to 2013 Sedan / 2010 to 2013 Hatch and Sedan   2010 - 2013 Sedan / 2012 - 2017 Hatch, Sedan   2010 to current Hatch   2013 to current Sedan † If you use SAE 10W-30 or a higher viscosity engine oil in extremely low temperatures, the engine may become difficult to start, so SAE 5W-30 or lower viscosity engine oil is recommended.   2015 to 2018   Corolla Hybrid 2016 to current Hatch * Recommended viscosity (SAE): If you use SAE 10W-30 or a higher viscosity engine oil in extremely low temperatures, the engine may become difficult to start, so SAE 0W-20, 5W-20 or 5W-30 engine oil is recommended.  Oil viscosity (0W-20 is explained here as an example): The 0W portion of the oil viscosity rating indicates the characteristic of the oil which allows cold startability. Oils with a lower value before the W allow for easier starting of the engine in cold weather.  The 20 in 0W-20 indicates the viscosity characteristic of the oil when the oil is at high temperature. An oil with a higher viscosity (one with a higher value) may be better suited if the vehicle is operated at high speeds, or under extreme load conditions. 

Truly Australian car brands – as in brands that mass manufactured cars locally, regardless of the origin of their overseas parent companies, became a thing of the past in 2017.

One of the most-anticipated cars of the last five years is Tesla’s long-awaited Model 3 sedan.

When it comes to what's underneath your car, it's pretty easy not to pay much attention, unless it's a traffic cone, a wombat, or the sky.

If we asked you to draw a car, right now, in 10 seconds, you'd draw a sedan - unless you are aged nine or under.

Australia’s love affair with Mazda is so passionate, and so unique, that even the car company itself can’t really explain it. Nowhere in the known universe is Mazda quite as popular, or as successful, per capita, as it is in this country, and in the most recent sales charts, it maintained its place as our second most popular brand, after mega-global giant Toyota.  In the US, Mazda didn’t have a single car in the top-10 selling vehicles in 2018, globally it is ranked 16th in production numbers, behind every other Japanese brand, including Suzuki, and in Japan itself it came in sixth in sales last year. But in Australia, we can’t get enough of them, so obviously there’s a lot of excitement about what new Mazda cars are on the way, what new Mazda sports car might be in the offing and which of Mazda’s latest models are about to updated.  Here, then, for those many new Mazda fans out there, is a complete list of what’s out there in 2019 and what’s coming up for the future. New Mazda ute While its twin-under-the-skin, the Ford Ranger, is kicking sales goals, Mazda’s slightly lumpen-looking BT-50 has been one of the brand’s slightly less-stellar offerings. Mazda gave the BT-50 an Australian-designed facelift in 2018, which brought a squarer bumper and made it slightly less disturbing to look at. For now, though, ute buyers will have to either put up with the current look, go and buy a Ranger or wait for the new BT-50, which is around two years away. Mazda Australia says the design for the new car is already locked in and that it’s “very happy” with the way it’s looking, so you can bet it will be quite different to the current one. While today’s BT-50 is a joint venture with Ford, its replacement will be something new as it’s a co-development with Isuzu and will share its architecture with the rugged and reliable D-MAX ute. We can expect to see the new vehicle in around 2021, and Mazda Australia managing director, Vinesh Bhindi, knows just how vital its success will be. For Toyota and Ford, utes are their biggest sellers in Australia, while for Mazda it’s still very much the 3, so a successful BT-50 replacement could push Mazda even further up the sales charts. “For Mazda Australia the BT-50 is critical,” Bhindi says. “Our focus will be private buyers even for the ute.” New Mazda SUV You might not be able to see much space between a Mazda CX-3 and a CX-5, but perhaps you’re just not looking hard enough, because Mazda has found a gap in there, which it’s going to plug with a Goldilocks model known as the CX-30, which will arrive in Australia later this year. The CX-30 is longer and wider than a CX-3 (4395mm and and 1795mm versus 4275mm and 1765mm), yet smaller than the CX-5, which measures 4545mm in length and 1840mm in width. The big news, particularly for young parents who love the CX-3’s styling but wish it could fit a standard pram in the boot is that the CX-30 can do just that, with 430 litres of luggage space, up from just 264 in the CX-3. Engine offerings should include the Skyactiv G 2.0-litre petrol and the exciting new Skactiv X petrol engine. New Mazda sports car Some brands need halo model, and some brands, like Mazda, already have one, like the MX-5, which is arguably the most successful, and widely loved, sports car the world has ever seen.  Speculation that there would be a new Mazda RX-7 or RX-8, or some other new Mazda rotary, to cash in on those glorious cars of yore with their screaming rev limits has been quashed of late, with Mazda repeatedly saying no such vehicle is in planning, nor required. The company is not giving up on the Wankel rotary technology it did so much to make famous, however, and says that it will form part of a special range-extender platform, basically a rotary hybrid. The “flexible rotary hybrid platform”, which combines a rotary-based range extender with a battery-powered EV driveline, is tipped to be so fuel efficient that it will help Mazda to compete even in countries with the stricter emissions requirements. At this stage, the rotary project is called XEV, and Mazda spokes people have said that it will come to Australia, at some point. New Mazda 2 One of the best little city cars around, and one of the best looking, the current Mazda 2, which dates back to 2015, still looks fresh and isn’t due for replacement until 2021, so you won’t find too many run-out deals on it yet at your local dealership if you’re keen to buy one. It may not end up being a new version of itself, of course, because if the current trend for making SUVs out of every single segment on the market continues, the 2 might morph into something else entirely. Indeed, Mazda has hinted that it is watching trends to see just what shape the next 2 might be, and that it could become a very small SUV indeed, slotting in under the CX-3, rather than its current, traditional hatchback shape. Watch out, then, for the CX-2 to show its face on a motor show concept stand in the next couple of years. New Mazda 3 New cars don’t get much more important for a brand than the 3 is for Mazda. While many buyers are moving away from traditional hatches and small sedans - and the new 3 offers both - the Mazda 3 somehow maintains its popularity. The new, and truly wonderful looking version, will do nothing to hurt those sales numbers and should instead give them a boost, with its improved interior, lower levels of NVH and the arrival of the epoch-shifting Skactiv X petrol engine. The new 3 also sets the benchmark for safety in this category, as you can read here. New Mazda 6 Those rare families who aren’t tempted by the lure of a new SUV would find the Mazda 6 sedan and wagon hard to go past. Indeed, its appeal is such that Mazda was still tipping the 6 to sell 3700 units over its first 12 months when the latest facelift arrived, in May last year. The big change for that update was the addition of turbocharged variants, to add some spice to the range. There were also structural changes made to the 6 to help reduce noise and improve comfort, including thicker floor panels. Cosmetic changes included a new grille and headlights, and 17 or 19-inch wheels. There was also a bit of love shown to the interior, with comfier seats, a new dash and an Active Driving Display (a head-up display, in other words). Once again, in a shrinking market place, the future of the 6 is hard to deduce, but for now it’s a family car with a low centre of gravity that’s well worth considering. New Mazda CX-3 A new, or at least updated, Mazda CX-3 was launched to an already adoring public late last year, with the 2019 modeller upgrade including minor cosmetic tweaks, a nicer interior and some engine fettling.  The original CX-3 was only launched in 2015, and yet it feels like it’s been a feature on our roads for longer, so enthusiastically have Australians taken to it. The interior is noticeable better and has more oddment storage, thanks to Mazda’s decision to replace the old-school hand brake with an electronic one.  You can read all about it here. New Mazda CX-5 It’s hard to overstate just what an enormous success the CX-5 has been in Australia. It’s been our number-one selling SUV for the past seven years, which is pretty impressive when you consider that it’s a mid-sizer and not particularly off-road capable.  What it is, however, is pretty much the perfect sized family car for city dwellers, and attractive and good to drive to boot. It is, for now, still behind the 3 on Mazda’s own sales charts, but even with the arrival of the sexy new version of that car, Mazda is tipping that the CX-5 will become the brand’s top seller over the next year or two. The CX-5 was most recently updated in May, 2018, with Mazda adding cylinder-deactivation technology and slashing prices across the range. You can read all about it here. New Mazda CX-6 Yes, there does seem to be one more gap in the Mazda line-up that could be filled by yet another sleek SUV, and that would be the CX-6, tipped to arrive around 2021. Destined to sit between the big-selling CX-5 and the twin-sister CX-8 and CX-9, the CX-6 would be a coupe-styled SUV, following in the footsteps of some very popular efforts from the European SUV makers (think BMW X4 for example). Sure enough, speculation has it that this will be a more premium model with smooth and futuristic lines.  As the so-called CX-6 will be aimed at the premium end of the market, it will likely be powered by a the 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine from the CX-9 large SUV and Mazda6 mid-size sedan. New Mazda CX-8 Yes, the CX-8 does sit very close to the CX-9 in the Mazda range, but that doesn’t mean it’s not unique, and clever.  Initially a Japan-only model, Mazda Australia begged to bring it here, and managed to do so in June last year. It has the long wheelbase and the seven-seat layout of the CX-9, but also the narrower width dimensions of a CX-5, making it just that bit easier to park.  It also looks different, not a lot, but enough, with the headlights from the CX-9 and the taillights from the CX-5. The idea seems to be to give Mazda a foot in both the mid-size and large SUV camps at the same time, for those people who aren’t quite sure which they want to go, and end up coming down right in the middle. You can read all about it here. New Mazda CX-9 The big daddy of the Mazda range, the CX-9 has won many plaudits, and plenty of fans, for is stylish design, driveability, clever use of space and the fact that it’s a seven-seat SUV you might actually desire to own. Most recently updated in September last year - with new tech, better safety, improved handling and a touch of interior classiness - the CX-9 also bumped up its price slightly. You can read about the updated versions here. New Mazda MX-5 The car that puts the Zoom Zoom in Mazda, the MX-5 is a sporty, two-door roadster that puts a smile on the face of anyone who drives it. Enormously successful and seemingly getting both better looking, and better to drive, with each new generation, Mazda recently celebrated the 30th anniversary of the MX-5 with a special edition in bright Racing Orange. Just 3000 examples of the 30th Anniversary edition will be sold worldwide, with a choice of either soft-top or hard-top, and such is the love for this car that you can bet they’ll all become collector’s items.