Hyundai Problems

The popular MG3 is the model you’re referring to and you’re right; it hasn’t been locally crash-tested. But it does lack some important safety gear. Enough, we reckon, to knock it off your short-list. The MG lacks, for instance, important driver aids such as autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and lane-keeping assistance, nor can these features be had by spending more on a fancier version.

Which leaves us with your other two choices, the Hyundai i30 and Kia Rio. Even then, you’ll need to option up beyond the base-model to get (some of) those safety features, but these are not expensive cars to begin with, so the jump might not be as bad as you think.

The other car to consider would be the SP Pure version of the Mazda 2. At $23,690, it’s not over-priced but it does have low-speed (up to 30km/h) autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and lane-departure warning as well as rear cross-traffic alert.

And a manual transmission? The MG 3 no longer offers one, both the Hyundai i30 and the Kia Rio are available with a six-speed manual option. The Mazda 2 Pure SP is automatic only, but you can get a six-speed manual on the base-model Mazda 2.

I agree that youngsters taught to drive a manual car tend to be better drivers, but that’s not a universally held view these days. And the fact is that most young drivers will never be presented with a clutch pedal in the future, raising the question of why learn in the first place? The reality is that learning to drive a manual car gives you extra mechanical awareness and extra ability to multi-task behind the wheel.

These engines definitely did have a reputation for piston slap and ticking noises and this could easily have led to the cylinder scoring you’re complaining of. But you haven’t told me how many kilometres the engine has covered. If it’s a lot, then Hyundai’s stance is a bit easier to understand, since the engine may have been suffering normal wear and tear (which can include the same symptoms).

Carsguide’s normal advice would be to contact Hyundai’s customer service department, followed by the ACCC. But since you appear to have tried this, I’m not sure where to go next. Certainly, a $9000 repair bill is likely to be as much, or more, than the car is worth, so maybe a second-hand, tested engine from a parts recycler will be a cheaper option than rebuilding what you have.

Premium diesel fuel seems to be one of those things that marketing departments, rather than engineering departments, have invented. It enables the fuel companies to charge you more for a product that is allegedly better, but nobody really knows why Premium diesel is an advantage.

At best, Premium diesel will have a few extra additives to help keep the engine clean inside, so maybe running a tank of Premium every now and then isn’t a bad idea. It won’t hurt. But don’t be fooled into thinking that your car will perform better in any meaningful way by switching exclusively to the more expensive Premium brew.

This is, of course, the opposite of Premium unleaded petrol which, depending on the car, can be a difference between happy motoring and expansive engine damage.

The extra purchase price of a diesel engine over a petrol one is only the start of the cost comparison. Generally speaking, diesels will cost a bit more to service (it depends on the make and model) and that’s if you don’t have problems with the diesel particulate filter (DPF) or soot build-up in the engine’s intake system that needs to be manually cleaned out.

You also need to consider your driving habits to decide whether a diesel is right for you. As a rule of thumb, if you don’t go for a decent drive at highway speeds for about an hour or so at least once or twice a month, then a diesel is not for you. Using a diesel engine exclusively for short trips at suburban speed can often see the DPF requiring more attention than it should, and that equals cost.

Also, modern petrol engines have really closed the fuel-economy gap that the diesel once enjoyed. The fuel consumption difference between the diesel Tucson and the petrol version is likely to be about a litre per 100km (based on the official combined figure for each). That means that even at $2 per litre (and based on the $6000 difference in price you’ve quoted) you’d need to drive 300,000km before the diesel began to pay for itself in terms of fuel saved. I’m not sure there’s a full $6000 separating the two versions of the Tucson, but even so, you get the idea.

While the CVT is enjoying a bit of a purple patch right now with many car-makers using it for its efficiency benefits, you’re not the only one, Gregg, that doesn’t want to own such a thing. The CVT’s history is littered with failures, although to be perfectly fair, they are a lot better now than they’ve ever been.

But even if you can accept their reliability track record, some owners will just never take to the CVT’s characteristics of allowing the engine to rev up and have the rest of the vehicle catch up. It can feel very alien and it’s hardly a sporty sensation, either.

With all that in mind, you probably should start looking at things like the two-wheel-drive versions of something like, say, the Toyota Kluger or Hyundai Santa Fe. Both are available in two-wheel-drive, both have conventional 8-speed automatic transmissions and both can haul a decent load (2000kg and 2500kg respectively). The Toyota even offers a hybrid driveline, but, sadly for buyers like you, that uses a CVT transmission.

Rather than concentrate on a particular brand, the best advice is to find a vehicle with a full service history and signs that it has lived an easy life. Too often, commercial vehicles like vans are bought by their first owner and used and abused. They’re nearly always purchased with a job in mind, and that job can often wreck them or at least shorten their lives.

Sometimes, the down-time associated with proper servicing means that maintenance is skipped, other times the sheer weight of the cargo being carried puts a lot of strain on mechanical components. A van that has been used by, say, a pool chemical company might have been exposed to highly corrosive chemicals every day of its life and could be hiding lots of rust. Even a florist’s van might have every nook and cranny filled with potting mix, waiting to become damp and start the rusting process.

Another good idea is to buy a van that has already been converted to a camper. This conversion is not an inexpensive process, so letting the previous owner spend the money is a terrific concept. Keep an eye on the classifieds for a van that has done a tour of duty with a grey nomad or van-lifer, and is now up for sale as the owner moves on to something new.

The short answer is no. The Palisade in either petrol or turbo-diesel form is rated to tow a maximum of 2200kg. Towing a heavier load than that would be illegal, void your warranty and insurance and would simply be outright dangerous.

Beyond the towing element, the Palisade would be a great choice for a growing family of teenagers as it’s huge inside, comfortable and has a flexible seating layout. However, if you really want to tow a 3.5-tonne camper (which is what a family of that size probably needs for a vanning holiday) then you’re better off going for a four-wheel-drive wagon like a Nissan Patrol or Toyota LandCruiser.

These vehicles offer seven seats (unlike a dual-cab ute) and have the towing capacity to do what you need them to. That said, at 3500kg, you’re right on the limit of their legal towing capacity, so you’d need to accurately know the mass of the caravan or camper and then add the weight of any gear inside it including drinking water and luggage. All those things add to the towed mass and can easily take and already heavy camper-trailer beyond the legal towing limit of the vehicle.

This sounds like an odd question, but it’s actually not. Not all cars over the years have been fitted with two reversing lights and having just one was legally acceptable. From memory some Excels (and the early Toyota Prius in some markets and plenty of European cars) were sold here with both a single reversing light and a high-intensity fog-light set into the rear bumper. Australian drivers being unfamiliar with rear fog-lights, often left them turned on all the time, dazzling anybody following.

As well as reducing the cost-per-car, having a fog light and a reversing light that were interchangeable made building cars in both left and right-hand-drive form a little simpler (and cheaper) as the same bumper moulding could be used with the lights simply swapped side-to-side.

In any case, by 2009, the Hyundai Excel had grown a second reversing light to bring it into line with other mainstream cars being sold here. Hyundai Australia managed to dig me up a wiring diagram for the FD model Excel (2007 to 2011) which clearly shows the wiring loom to support two reversing lights.

It’s pretty simple, James, and despite both two and four-wheel-drive being offered on all trim levels of the Kona, there’s one thing to check that will answer your question: If the vehicle has the two-litre, non-turbocharged engine, it’s a two (front) wheel-drive. If it has the 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, it’s an all-wheel-drive Kona. Hyundai never offered a front-wheel-drive Kona with the turbo engine, nor all-wheel-drive with the non-turbo.

Beyond that, there were some other major technical differences that will also tell you what you’re looking at. The front-drive Kona has a simpler, torsion-beam rear suspension, while the AWD version has a multi-link arrangement. Then there’s the transmission. Front-drive Konas got a six-speed conventional automatic, while the AWD Kona got a dual-clutch seven-speed transmission.

You’re on the right track with this approach. Fundamentally, you need to give the dealer (and manufacturer) the opportunity to put things right. That means giving the dealer access to the vehicle, even though that’s obviously inconvenient for you. A switched on dealership will, where possible, offer you a replacement vehicle while yours is being worked on, too.

Only when the manufacturer and dealer have told you there’s nothing that they can do should you approach the ACCC or other statutory body with your request for a refund or a new vehicle to replace the one that can’t be fixed. While ever the dealer is making an attempt to fix things, it’s wise to give them the access to do so.

For what it’s worth, the problem is likely to be something to do with the car’s body computer which is playing up and not allowing the central locking to work, while also allowing the battery to drain. What looks like a faulty battery can often be traced back to a body computer problem, particularly when the central locking is involved.