Ask The Guide

Do not buy a Cruze, or buy a European brand. They will prove costly. It's best to go for the cars that are well proven over many years. The Lancer is a good one, but so too is the Toyota Yaris or Corolla, Suzuki Swift, Mazda2 or 3, or Mitsubishi Colt.

It could be a number of things, most likely a faulty sensor sending a false message to the car's computer. Have it diagnosed by a mechanic.

The auto transmission is a fill-for-life unit, which means that you don't have to have it serviced for the life of the vehicle, whatever that means. For mine the auto should be regularly serviced, particularly when the vehicle is being used for towing, as yours is. There is no hard and fast rule, but in your case I would have it serviced annually.

It can be hard to locate the cause of an intermittent problem when it doesn't happen while the mechanic is there to see it. Even when it is captured by the on-board diagnostics it can still be difficult to find.

I can only suggest you follow the advice from the dealer and get it back pronto once you strike trouble again.

Most owners are happy with the fuel consumption they get from their Kuga, and no one we have spoken to has suggested the electrics are a problem at high temperatures. One did say they thought the air-conditioning wasn't up to the task, which could be what you are referring to. The Kuga is an import, and imports often have inferior air-conditioning systems that struggle in Australia's extreme heat. The only other issue that cropped up was one with the particulate filter with the diesel, which would go into 'limp-home' mode because the filter failed to regenerate automatically. When that happens it's usually a sign that the owner's driving cycle isn't suitable for the diesel. Dealers can do a manual regeneration, but that costs money. Overall the Kuga appears to be a decent enough car.

Without knowing more about the vibration you report it's hard to diagnose a cause, but we note that other Triton owners complain about a vibration on takeoff, which I suspect could be what you experienced. If it is I understand the problem has been referred to Mitsubishi in Japan for a fix, and that it could be a result of the changes made to the rear suspension on that model. We can't say it will get worse with age or when towing, but if you are concerned about it then you perhaps you shouldn't buy the car.

You don't say if it's two-door cab-chassis, dual-cab ute, diesel, V6, GLX etc. so it will be a rough guide only. $7500 to $10,000 is about the best we could give you.

There have been problems with the HVAC system in the VF, and it's not just a noisy minority. Holden issued a service bulletin (13-SU-02) in 2103 for a software update for the VAC control module, but the jury is out on whether it really did fix the problem.

If the warning light is in the shape of an engine it's telling you something is amiss within the engine management system and you should take it to a mechanic to find out the reason it's coming on. It's probably a faulty engine sensor, or something similar in the engine management system.

I'm guessing you are talking about the sharp cut-off in the headlight beams. Talk to your Toyota dealer about having them adjusted to raise the cut-off.