Ask The Guide

Being new there’s little history to tell you about any issues, it’s simply too early to make any predictions. When Carsguide reviewed the Colorado it was rated at 7.5/10, a pretty good score. It’s clearly on the money when it comes to utes. One thing I would point out is that the diesel engine has a cam timing belt, and while Holden says it’s maintenance-free I remain sceptical. Overall, I don’t think you have anything to be concerned about.

Diff failures are not common, but not unknown either. I would try to get Hyundai to help out with the cost, their obligations to support their vehicles don't end when the warranty expires.

Without being able to see the extent of the wear and tear I can’t say, and there are so many things that can affect the wear on trim. In my view you won’t get anywhere with Ford on this issue.

1600 kg in the trailer has brakes, 750 kg if it doesn’t.

That’s very odd, and I wouldn’t expect it to be related to the transmission. Take it to a mechanic to check the starting system.

I wouldn’t pay $6000 more for a 2015 model than I would for an equivalent 2014 model; the most I would pay would be $3000.

They’d both do the job for you. Both are fully featured with everything you could want or need, and will tow up to 3500 kg. Toss of the coin.

By how far did you miss the service? Was it by a 1000 kilometres or so, or did you miss it all together? If you missed the service by a few weeks or a few kilometres then I would not expect the engine to seize, but if you skipped the service completely I’m not surprised. I’m also guessing the warranty won’t be honoured because of the missed service, but depending on the circumstances surrounding the missed service you could try and negotiate with Mitsubishi for some cover.

The third-generation Kia Sorento is built in several facilities around the world by Korean car manufacturer Kia. The plants where the Sorento is built include Hwaseong, South Korea, Gurun in Malaysia, and Georgia in the USA.

Ford's mid-sized SUV, the Escape, is available as both an all wheel drive and a front wheel drive across its three trim levels (Trend, Titanium, and Ambiente). There is no rear wheel drive model and many don't consider the Escape's all wheel drive to be true 4x4 as there is no low-range option for the transmission, which is traditionally what separated 4x4s from all wheel drives.