Ask The Guide

The RAV4 in its current guise is the best the model has ever been. Of course, that’s exactly how it should be, but some car-makers don’t always crack the newer-is-better code. You’re right about the new RAV4 Hybrid being the headline grabber, but that’s because it’s the big change in the RAV4 formula and the one that is likely to attract the most new customers to the franchise. There’s nothing wrong with the two-litre CVT RAV4 per se, but you might find the performance of the smaller petrol engine a bit on the weedy side, especially with a full load of bodies and luggage on board. And, as with any CVT car, the advice is to drive it before you decide, and make sure you don’t find the CVT’s behaviour too foreign. Some people do, others never notice it.

The Kia Sportage Sport is another good package but suffers the same lacklustre engine performance issue in two-litre petrol form. It does, though, have a conventional six-speed automatic transmission rather than a CVT. And while the Sportage was facelifted in 2018, its basic design goes back to 2015. Which, in fact, makes it an older design than the Mazda CX-5 which was first launched here in 2017. Any of the three vehicles you’ve nominated will do the job but history suggests the Toyota will hold more resale value when trade-in time rolls around. And congratulations on the new addition to the family.

The world of hybrids is moving very fast, Hannah, and the rule of thumb is that newer is better purely because the technology is improving all the time. You’re obviously concerned with running costs and your carbon-footprint, so the latest hybrid technology with a full factory warranty would seem to be an obvious way to go.

That puts the new Corolla Hybrid firmly in the frame as both a car with the latest planet-saving and life-saving tech as well as Toyota’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty as well as a ten-year warranty on the hybrid’s batteries. For some reason, Lexus hasn’t budged on its four-year warranty, meaning that a 2017 CT200h might only have a few months of factory cover to run if your bought it now. You’ll also potentially pay more for the second-hand Lexus than you will for the brand-new Corolla.

The only real drawback with the Corolla Hybrid is that its luggage space – because of the battery-packs – is quite shallow. But beyond that it’s a great car with the hybrid driveline thrown in for just a couple of grand extra. That’s a bargain and it’s one of the reasons the new Corolla will be a lot of Australian families’ first hybrid.

This is another problem that really needs the services of a diagnostic computer to make any sort of meaningful assessment of what’s going on here. That said, this engine uses a throttle-position sensor to turn the driver’s right-foot input into forward motion at the engine. If this sensor is not talking to the on-board computer, there’s a good chance you could have the exact condition you’ve described, Shalvesh.

On a more fundamental level, are you sure the transmission is selecting gears? Perhaps the vehicle is stuck in neutral somehow. But if the engine won’t even rev up when you hit the throttle, I think you’re looking at some kind of sensor problem.

It all depends on where you get your information from, John. Like you, I’ve certainly read reports that the Alltrack franchise is being put to rest in North America in favour of SUVs, but a quick chat with VW Australia revealed that the concept still has legs out here. Perhaps the confusion is over the USA market axing of the cars, while the Alltracks sold here are generally sourced from the German VW factory. In any case, you can expect to see Alltracks in VW showrooms for the foreseeable future.

The big question is whether they’ll be available with a diesel engine. My VW insider “hopes so” but recent reports that all VW passenger cars will be petrol powered puts that into doubt, even if the Alltrack models are classed by some sections of the trade as light-commercials. Even if the Alltrack concept survives with a diesel engine option, count on there being a petrol-powered variant available as well.

In any case, the notion of the Alltrack becoming a depreciation victim here because the USA stops selling them is not going to be a reality.

As with any other problems like this one, Terry, the best advice is to have the car plugged in to a scanner and have a diagnostic mechanic read the fault codes which will hopefully give an idea of the cause of the limp-home mode and unresponsive throttle pedal. It could be something simple, it may be something really intrinsic, but without a scan, you’re flying blind.

The oil in the intercooler, meanwhile, is a potentially big problem. A little oil inside the intercooler piping is actually quite normal and is usually the result of oil mist from the crankcase ventilation system condensing and leaving a little oily residue. But a large amount of oil in the intercooler suggests a turbocharger with leaking seals and/or bearings. If the seals are leaking, boost pressure from the turbocharger can force oil from the turbo’s bearing into the intercooler. If that’s the case, you’re looking at a rebuilt or new turbocharger unit. A blown turbo could also be enough to prompt the limp-home mode you’re experiencing.

Well, if you’re looking for a fuel-efficient car, then a Honda Jazz is a very good choice. With an official combined fuel-consumption figure as low as 5.7 litres per 100km, and the ability to run on the cheaper 91-RON unleaded, the Jazz’s weekly fuel costs will be among the lowest around.

But $15,000 is a crazy figure. The entry-level Jazz was only about $16,000 when brand-new, so even though the kilometres showing on this one are extremely low, the price being asked is astronomical. The most expensive 2008 Jazzes out there are asking around $8000 (and that’s too much) with plenty out there for $4000 or less.

The difference would be if you meant to type 2018 instead of 2008 (which is a better match with the odometer reading you’re quoting) at which point $15,000 starts to look like roughly the right price to be paying. Either way, the Jazz is nicely built, drives well and will be very economical.

The problem with all these vehicles, Darren, is that they seem to have covered huge distances (200,000km is a lot for a car that is just eight years old, no?). Also, some of them have covered those kilometres towing huge, heavy trailers and a full tray at the same time. So, the first piece of advice is to buy one that has a full service history and hasn’t been worked half to death. A Ranger with a huge bull-bar, suspension lift, winch and mud tyres, for instance, is a dead certainty to have been thrashed through the bush every weekend of its life. So be careful and take each vehicle on its merits and overall condition.

It seems you’ve heard of the Ranger’s engine troubles (overheating due to faulty EGR coolers and failed fuel injectors) but the Toyota three-litre turbo-diesel is not without its faults either. Cracked pistons between 100,000km and 150,000km are not unknown and, like any common-rail diesel, the Toyota’s engine can consume injectors at a frightening rate. The bottom line is that all these modern common-rail diesels are highly tuned and absolutely need their maintenance. Even then, they can fail, so it’s worth knowing.

For your purposes, Darren, I think the Ranger with its more powerful engine (147kW and 470Nm plays the Toyota’s 120kW and 343Nm) and much greater towing capacity (3500kg for the Ford, 2250kg for the Toyota) would be the smarter way to go.

Transmission Control Module (TCM) faults are not unknown on these early Mazda 3s. Symptoms usually involve erratic shifting, a failure to select gear at all and having the car go into limp-home mode. The good news is that there are companies out there who can repair your existing TCM, which gets you around the need to buy an expensive replacement. By the way, from what I can gather, any replacement TCM should be plug-and-play with no need to have the new module coded to the car’s other systems.

It’s also worth noting that Mazda in the USA issued a Technical Service Bulletin (like a recall but not for a safety issue) for automatic 3s from this era fitted with the 2.3-litre engine. In some cases, the shift solenoid could lose fluid, leading to harsh shifts and shuddering when driving uphill. The fix was a revised solenoid design but the catch was that the unit lived inside the transmission, so to whole gearbox had to be removed and taken apart to replace the part in question.

For a start, some owners are not mad about the Subaru’s CVT transmission. It’s not that it’s necessarily unreliable, they just don’t like the way it works with an occasional hesitation and a slight jerkiness at light throttle applications. Some people never notice it, but others find it a real distraction. The Kia meanwhile, has been getting good reviews across the trade, largely thanks to the Australian-input into the model’s suspension settings.

Of course, you need to personally drive all three cars on your short-list as there will be things you like and dislike about each one, some of which will be deal-breakers.

The SsangYong is certainly the unknown quantity, but mainly because of the brand’s on-again-off-again relationship with the Australian market. But now, with head-office support (the Australian operation is the only factory-owned distributorship outside the brand’s native South Korea) things are looking a bit brighter for buyers and that’s backed up by the factory seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty that also includes fixed price servicing and roadside-assistance for seven years. That’s got to represent peace of mind.

While the less sporty versions of Suzuki’s Swift of this era used a conventional automatic transmission, the Swift Sport used a CVT transmission. And I’m wondering if maybe that’s all there is to your question. The CVT is quite capable of feeling like its slipping when you use lots of throttle, such as when going up a hill or accelerating to overtake. It’s actually quite normal and is the method a CVT uses to maximise fuel-economy by keeping the engine operating in its most efficient zone.

But if you’ve owned the car for some time and its behaviour has changed, then it could be that the CVT is beginning to wear internally. Or perhaps it’s the torque-converter (that links the engine to the transmission) that is starting to wear out and allowing the engine to rev harder than it used to for a given road speed.

Suzuki did recall this model (and conventional automatic versions) to check for loose bolts that secured the torque converter to the transmission. But if these became loose and fell out, you’d have no drive at all, so I don’t think that’s the problem here.