2004 Hyundai Trajet Reviews

Hyundai began production of its newest electric car, the Ioniq 3, at its Türkiye plant during the week, with a promising price tag already attached to the car in the UK.Order books opened for the 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 3 in the UK with a starting price of £22,245, which directly converts to A$42,400.While that’s not confirmation we can expect the Ioniq 3’s price to land around $40,000 on arrival in Australia, it does show Hyundai might be able to compete with small electric SUVs from China.Hyundai already sells a 'Light' SUV, the Inster, at around the $40,000 mark, so expect the bigger Ioniq 3 (which comes in at 4155mm long, 1800mm wide and 1505mm tall) to sit above that.While the Hyundai Ioniq 3 likely won’t be able to undercut small electric SUVs (which it’s smaller than) like the BYD Atto 2 (from $31,990), GWM Ora 5 (from $33,990) or Jaecoo J5 (from $36,990), Hyundai’s positioning as a more premium offering should help it entice buyers away.While it’s not set to launch here until the first half of 2027, the Ioniq 3 is also being built in Hyundai’s Türkiye factory, so importing the car from Europe will bring its own costs.However, Hyundai will be keen to make the car as competitive as possible through pricing or spec to bolster its electric car sales.Five variants of the Ioniq 3 have been confirmed for the UK with two battery-size and drivetrain set-ups.The version with a “projected WLTP range” of 344km thanks to a 42.2kWh battery and 108kW output is dubbed Standard Range, while a Long Range version with an anticipated range of 496km but lower output of 100kW is also locked in.The former is only available in the base model and brings the aforementioned £22,245 price with it, while the other drivetrain is available in the base trim as well as three higher grades.An N Line Evo variant tops the line-up at £31,945 (A$60,900).

Facing the competitive vortex created by more than a dozen new brands from China arriving in the local car market in the last couple of years, Hyundai has clearly embraced the adage ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join em.’That’s because its pure-electric Elexio mid-size SUV is made by Beijing Hyundai, a Chinese joint-venture company the South Korean giant operates with state-owned carmaker, BAIC.The single-motor, front-wheel drive, five-seater launched here in February this year in a single Elite grade to take on ‘Made in China’ rivals like the BYD Sealion 7 and Tesla Model Y.And now it’s been joined by an entry-grade version, simply called Elexio, that drops cost-of-entry from $61,990 to $58,990 (both before on-road costs) bringing it closer to similarly priced, sized and specified alternatives like the previously mentioned BYD Sealion 7 (from $54,990) and Tesla Model Y (from $58,900) as well as the Deepal S07 (from $53,990), KGM Torres EV ($58,000, drive-away), Mazda CX-6e (from $53,990), Renault Scenic E-Tech (from $55,990), Cupra Tavascan (from $60,990) and Zeekr 7X (from $57,900).The good news is, while saving three grand you’re not giving away much in terms of standard features. Big ticket items like dual-zone climate control, a six-way power driver’s seat, all LED exterior lighting, a giant 27-inch multimedia touchscreen (more on that later), Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, wireless charging, a head-up display, six-speaker audio, alloy rims and a full-fat safety suite are all included.  For an extra $3.0K the Elite adds heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a power tailgate, 20-inch rims, leather-appointed seats, extra power adjustment for the driver’s seat and power adjust for the front passenger seat.   Proving a car’s looks are always subjective, I read the Elexio’s design as 1990s concept car. There’s something about those slim horizontal headlights with four cube-like LED units across each that says retro-futurism circa 1993.Other than that the car doesn’t stray far from the typical mid-size SUV template although a broad grey band running up the D-pillar and across the roof above the tailgate adds some visual pizzazz to the rear end.The interior is clean and functional but kinda boring, at least for me. The gigantic screen, filling around half the dash dominates things visually, but the otherwise predominantly grey colour palette feels flat.There’s plenty to like in terms of practicality, though, with lots of head, leg and shoulder room for me (at 183cm) front and rear and plenty of storage including generous door bins, a centre oddments box, glove box and a flying buttress style front centre console that creates additional space underneath it. There are multiple USB-C ports and a 12V socket.Also worth calling out is a simple device attached to the centre console cupholder unit. A frame with cup-sized detents in the centre either sits over the two cupholders on the left or flips over the storage tray to its right to create another pair of cupholders. Genius.The boot is a useful 506 litres with the 60/40 split-folding rear seat upright, expanding to 1540 litres with it lowered. No spare wheel, though, just an inflator repair kit, which isn’t good enough in Aussie conditions.The Elexio is powered by a single electric motor sending 160kW/310Nm to the front wheels. Decent outputs, although in a car weighing around 2.1 tonnes acceleration isn’t eye-widening. But this SUV has ample oomph in the city and suburbs as well as for easy highway cruising and overtaking. Ride comfort is more than acceptable, which is a stand-out in the EV era where newcomers often miss the mark on compliance and chassis dynamics. And even the steering passes muster with decent road feel and accuracy.But… then there’s ‘the screen’, confirming bigger isn’t always better.IMAX-like in width, it’s markedly offset to the left with key readouts like speed, battery level, time and climate settings located towards the right-hand end. There’s also a slender head-up display in front of the driver repeating key functions.But if, for example,  you need to adjust the air con on the move you have to take your eyes well and truly off the road and fiddle with on-screen controls. At which point the driver distraction warning slaps you over the wrist with an audible ‘bing’ and visual alert. Grrrr. Physical dials for at least the climate control would be a more user-friendly, safer set-up. An audio volume knob (other than the steering wheel scroll wheel) would be welcome, too.  And speaking of bings and bongs, safety is an Elexio strong suit with a maximum five-star ANCAP rating and nine airbags as well as every monitor, assist and warning known to human kind. But the lane-keeping assist and overspeed warning are overly intrusive, although amazingly, if you decide to switch these features (including the driver fatigue monitor) off, they stay off. No default reset on start-up. Hallelujah!Just to keep the whinging going for a minute, I’m not a fan of the flush-fitting exterior door handles. They pop out at an angle and are awkward to use. And I banged my left knee more than once on the chunky gear selector unit on the right-hand side of the steering column when exiting the car. Annoying and painful.    Claimed range from the 88.1kWh LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery is 562km (WLTP), with a 150kW DC fast-charge time from 10-80 per cent of 38 minutes. The Elexio also has 10kW AC charging capacity and V2L (vehicle-to-load) capability onboard, the latter accessed via a three-pin connector in the boot.Hyundai’s official combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle energy use figure is 18.2kWh/100km and over a week of city, suburban and freeway running we saw a real-world average of only 15.1kWh/100km, which is as unusual as it is impressive.  Warranty is a competitive seven years, unlimited kilometres and service intervals are two years or 30,000km. Hyundai’s service plans will see you paying $779 at the two-year mark, and another $1118 at four years, which puts your average annual cost at a category competitive $475.

Australia's top 10 sales list looks very different when automotive groups are counted together, with Hyundai and Kia rocketing up the charts and Chinese companies taking out four places in total.While vehicles might wear different names, often they are owned by the same company, such as the Volkswagen Group with VW, Skoda, Cupra, Audi and more, Toyota with Toyota and Lexuz, or Geely with Geely, Zeekr, Polestar and Lotus.Counted as groups with a single corporate owner rather than as individual brands –which, it must be pointed out, is not how Australia's official body counts sales, making this more an experiment than anything else – and the sales results look very different.At the close of July, for example, Toyota led the YTD sales charts with a total 115,550 sales. BYD nabbed second spot, with 60,192 sales, followed by Ford, Kia and Mazda, with 48,696, 48,399 and 46,960 sales. Hyundai, GWM, Chery, Tesla and Mitsubishi round out the top 10.But counting group totals rather than individual brands paints a very different picture. Toyota and Lexus still comfortably hold top spot, with 122,902 sales, but it's the Hyundai Group (Hyundai and Kia) which take second spot, with a combined 94,113. Next comes the BYD Group (BYD and Denza) with 62,885. Ford and Mazda hold onto spots four and five, even as individual players.It's spot six through 10 where things get interesting, with the Chery Group (Chery, Omoda Jaecoo) storming into spot number six with 40,522 sales. GWM remains in spot seven, while the Geely Group arrives in the top 10 with 28,089 total sales. Mitsubishi and MG (the fifth Chinese brand/group inside this new top 10) fill spots eight and nine.For Chery, the July result was enough to elevate the group to spot number four for the month – a result which did not go unnoticed at HQ."Becoming the fourth largest automotive group in Australia is a significant achievement and demonstrates how strongly Australian consumers have embraced both Chery and Omoda Jaecoo," said Lewis Lu, CEO of Chery Motor Australia.   

Has it really been 40.5 years since Hyundai entered the Australian market?Bankrolled by the Western Australian tycoon, Alan Bond, who also helped this country win the America’s Cup yacht race in 1983, ‘Bond Motor Sales’ quietly launched the X1-series Excel in February, 1986.This was an Italian-designed front-wheel drive small car from Korea about the size of a Toyota Corolla but the price of a Toyota Yaris, with a name that even the importer could not pronounce correctly, as early adverts on YouTube prove. “Say Hi to Hyundai!”With just 1786 registrations in that first year, sales were slow to start with. But the severe economic recession heading into the 1990s that “Australia had to have” fuelled demand to the point that, 10 years later in 1996, the Excel was number three overall, behind the Holden VS Commodore and Ford EF/EL Falcon.But it wasn’t just down to one model.Soon to be free of Bond and with a firmer financial footing due to a new importer, Hyundai rapidly expanded with the mid-sized Sonata (from 1989), Scoupe (from 1990) and Lantra (from 1991, and later badged Elantra). The latter also brought greater independence from ‘technology partner’ (read: engine supplier) Mitsubishi, ushering the brand’s first in-house powertrain.From the “Drive-away, no more to pay” mentality that quickly became a rod on Hyundai’s back when they finally went beyond mere cheapness, to the hugely popular X3 (1994-2000) Excel’s alleged propensity to lose steering control due to bad welding, big hurdles certainly lay ahead for Hyundai.However, it came good eventually.So good, in fact, that today Hyundai has outgrown Mitsubishi by several multiples, while one model ranks as the best car of the 2020s so far, period.Which one? Read on!Inspired by the contemporary VW Polo, the Getz was the first time Hyundai introduced an internationally focused model built to beat the world’s best.For the price, it was certainly compelling, with crisp (and now timeless) styling, rorty engines, agile handling and great packaging. A giant leap from the charmless LC Accent range.The Getz heralded Hyundai’s outward-looking philosophy, bringing with it a new maturity.Prior to the i30, Hyundai’s answer to the VW Golf, Ford Focus and Mazda 3 was the XD Elantra hatchback.Coarse, uncomfortable and cheap are words to describe the interior, suspension, powertrain and styling of the 2000’s XD series.In contrast, the German-developed i30 was created to run with the best from Europe. The resulting taut styling, strong architecture and ergonomic packaging elevated the Hyundai to new heights for the brand.The CW wagon was uniquely appealing in its practicality and aesthetics, while all local models benefited from Australian road tuning.Subsequent generations continued the class act, leading to the hot-hatch redefining i30N a decade on.The Ford Transit Custom, VW Transporter and Mercedes-Benz Vito have long slogged it out for world’s-best mid-sized van honours, but their lofty pricing and often-exxy running costs won’t suit all budgets.Here’s where the Korean/German co-developed TQ iLoad really stepped up.Unveiled in 2007, it adopted best-van engineering practices in its short-bonnet front-engined/rear-drive layout, rigid platform construction, advanced crumple zones and car-like yet work-orientated cabin presentation, and all within a big and boxy carryall.The masterstroke, of course, was pricing that substantially undercut the A-league Euros. The iLoad democratised the modern van, fair and square. Just like today’s Staria continues to do.The most impressive new model released this decade (so far)?Easy, that would be the Ioniq 5. With breathtaking ambition and drive, the Hyundai EV punches so far above its weight on so many fronts that, privately, most rival carmakers must surely look at it with equal parts reverence and fear.What’s not to love?There’s the retro-futuristic design that defies sizing categorisation like it defies time; the E-GMP 800-volt architecture that provides a rock-solid base for cutting-edge EV tech that, until recently, was reserved for $250K-plus Porsches; a minimalist yet thoughtfully-executed interior offering the luxury of space, ambience and exquisite detailing; and a rapid, refined and rewarding driving experience that is as relaxing in the standard versions as it is rabidly rousing in the uniquely unhinged 5N.Five years on, still one of the world’s best EVs.The fifth iteration of Hyundai’s three-row mid-to-large SUV is a breath of fresh air to look at, sit inside, drive and live with.Unusually easy and relaxing to use, its square-edged styling affords excellent vision, perfect practicality and a source of endless debate, while the petrol-electric hybrid powertrain and sophisticated drivetrain provide pleasing performance as well as parsimony.A bold and brash statement in an all-too-often boring segment. And such great value. A great example of a single car that do everything, and with poise and panache to boot.The S Coupe, or Scoupe, was clearly created to be an affordable and fun sporty runabout.But the vague handling, sloppy gear shift and unrefined powertrain were leagues behind Japan’s coupes of the era from Toyota, Honda and Nissan.The problem stemmed with the platform – underneath the sleek silhouette was the humdrum, cheapo Excel econo-hatch. Great for keeping costs down. Terrible for finesse. And the unruly turbo version that followed was downright terrifying on wet roads.At least Hyundai listened, because the next-gen Coupe benefitted from a dynamic once-over by Porsche, and it showed.Can half a million Australians be wrong? Perhaps not, but the last, ‘90s-blobject Excel was an enigma.Big for its price and positioning, as well as powerful and reliable, it even became the best-selling car in Australia for a month in mid-1996.But it was crude to drive and ride in, and early examples suffered from sub-par quality in places where it really shouldn’t – namely the front-end structure that, due to insufficient welding, could lead to total steering loss. Oh dear. Remember, this was the era of sophisticated superminis like the Toyota Starlet and Echo, Nissan Micra and VW Polo.And how many generations of Aussies have had to endure Excels being driven with the rear fog light trying its best to sear off your retina?The early 2000s were the C-segment hatchback halcyon days.This was the era of the quality-defining VW Golf Mk4 and dynamics-redefining Ford Mk1 Focus, while the Toyota Corolla, Holden Astra, Honda Civic, Peugeot 307, Mazda 3 and Renault Megane all brought something individual to the small-car party.Yet the third-generation Elantra only brought noise, vibration and harshness to the fore. It looked, felt and drove like an economy car designed for American rental agencies.Thankfully, the i30 was waiting in the wings to fix all that.

If your next car isn’t electric, you need to ask yourself why.The days of choosing petrol or even hybrid by default should be consigned to history. I’ve just experienced one of the least popular electric vehicles (EVs) alongside one of the most popular hybrids, and I’ve come away convinced the EV is the better choice.Sales of EVs are up enormously in 2026, in part thanks to the on-going concerns about fuel prices due to the Iran War, but even if petrol prices go back to ‘normal’ levels and fuel security is resolved, it would be foolish for so many of us to revert back to our old way.You see, I just spent a week with both a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and the Hyundai Elexio and the abiding takeaway from those seven days is that I - a petrol-loving, race-car-obsessed, motoring journalist - favoured the Elexio.To be candid, the Elexio is not the best EV on sale, by far. It has its quirks and foibles and yet its strengths as an EV made me choose it more often than I intended. This isn’t a direct comparison between the RAV4 and Elexio, to be clear. The RAV4 is an excellent SUV in its own right and it isn’t surprising to me that it comfortably out-sells the Hyundai.But having the choice between two similarly sized SUVs, but one that runs near-silently and has a smooth, uninterrupted flow of torque whenever I push the accelerator, made the choice easier than I expected.EVs are having their moment in 2026, in large part because of the cost-of-living pressures and fuel price fluctuations. According to the latest sales data (up to the end of July, at the time of writing), EVs have surged to account for one-fifth of all new cars sold in July.Four of the 10 best-selling vehicles in July were EVs, and a relatively diverse quartet too - the obvious Tesla Model Y, the surging BYD Sealion 7, the budget-friendly Geely EX5 and the luxury Zeekr 7X.The Geely starts as low as $41,990, less than many similar-sized petrol SUVs, the BYD sits comfortably in the middle of the broader SUV market at $54,990 and the Tesla and Zeekr both start below $60k but stretch into premium territory.And these four aren’t the only EVs that Australians are buying, year-to-date to July EVs now account for more than 17 per cent of the total number of new vehicles sold. That is a big jump from the previous figure that had hovered around 10 per cent for more than a year.It underlines the growth and evolution of the EV market, with more models available across a wider span of prices meaning that are both more affordable to Australians but also more choices that better suit our diverse lifestyles and needs.There are now choices from the pint-sized BYD Atto 1 all the way to the super-sized Kia EV9 and everything in-between. And the more I drive them, especially in direct comparison to a petrol or diesel-powered equivalent, like I did this past week, the more I feel like EVs have turned a corner in this market.It has been a long time coming, but I feel like now that people have been exposed to them, word-of-mouth will spread and EVs are likely to grow. Yes, we still have work to do on improving infrastructure and there are question marks over the long-term affordability of some models, but overall we may have finally reached a tipping point for EVs.They obviously aren’t for everyone, I do understand that, and I’m not suggesting EVs will account for 50 per cent of the market any time soon, but I do feel like enough people have been exposed that we won’t revert back to our previous EV skepticism.This past week with the Elexio has driven home just how far EVs have come and why there is no reason, even if cost-of-living pressures and fuel prices ease, that we should all rush back to the internal combustion engine.

Australians are still buying cars in greater quantity than ever before, despite tough economic conditions.The new vehicle market recorded its strongest ever July result off the back of the same feat in June. Toyota has had a resurgent month up against its Chinese challengers BYD and Chery, led by its new-generation RAV4 SUV. Electric car sales are also showing no signs of slowing down in Australia, accounting for more than one-in-five cars sold. Chinese brands are becoming a staple high up the sales charts in Australia, with many budget-focused models continuing to drive sales. Toyota achieved 20,409 registrations for July, more than double what BYD managed.The Japanese juggernaut has taken out the top-two spots for July with its RAV4 family SUV and HiLux ute.The RAV4 has shot up the sale charts to take out pole position, with 5564 units, wrestling back against early supply issues plaguing the new version of the hugely popular family model. Plug-in hybrid variants of the RAV4 have received some serious attention from buyers, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the SUV's total sales.Toyota's HiLux ute was not far behind, boasting 4721 units and overtaking the Ford Ranger (4042) in July. The brand also experienced its best month in 2026 for its Land Cruiser Prado and 300 Series 4WDs.Fully-electric cars represented more than one-fifth of all sales in July, with rising fuel prices continuing to influence buyer choices.The Tesla Model Y registered another month as the best-selling EV in Australia, with 4644 units in July between its five- (2215) and six-seater (2429) variants according to EV Council data. BYD’s Sealion 7 mid-size SUV was another strong performer, with 2548 examples sold last month, keeping its tag as the brand’s best-selling model for another month.The Geely EX5 (2034) made another appearance in the top 10 best sellers, followed by the Zeekr 7X (1892). The Chery Tiggo 4 (2156) small SUV has continued its run as one of the best-selling small SUVs, holding off competition from the Hyundai Kona (2096) and Mazda CX-5 (1836).BYD held onto second position in the overall sales standings for July (7857), despite a noticeable drop-off from June. In addition to the Sealion 7, its Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute registered another confident registration figure, with 1216 units, along with the Atto 2 small SUV (1214).Chery, Geely, GWM and MG all made the top 10 best-selling brands for the month.

A new report has shed light on which electric vehicles (EVs) maintain the highest percentage of battery life over time.Swedish car marketplace Carla has published results from a study into battery life of electric cars, using data from 10,000 battery tests on EVs in Sweden between 2022 and 2026.The results may come as a surprise to some, with the best brand for battery health after 10,000km travelled being Kia, and the second best being Hyundai with 96.8 per cent and 95.4 per cent battery health, respectively.The next brands down were premium marques Mercedes-Benz (95 per cent) and BMW (94.5 per cent), with Ford (94.3 per cent) sitting above Geely Group brands Volvo (94.2 per cent) and Polestar (93.7 per cent).Volkswagen Group vehicles took up the next four positions, which in order included Audi (92.9 per cent), Skoda (92.6 per cent), VW (92.4 per cent) and Porsche (90.9 per cent).Tesla, which is often quoted as a brand with impressive battery degradation figures in other studies placed 12th in the Swedish study, with its cars maintaining 90.2 per cent battery health after 10,000km.The grouping of various brands together comes as little surprise given each parent company will source batteries from similar places and use familiar chemistries and heat management methods.Another graph from the same study shows average battery degradation between the first 50,000km (94.39 per cent) and the next 50,000km was negligible, at just over 2 per cent. Average battery health of the 10,000 cars tested by 100,000km was 92.35 per cent.More interesting is the breakdown by model, with the study showing the car with the least overall battery degradation was the Kia Niro EV, which maintained 97.25 per cent of its battery capacity.The Hyundai Kona Electric and Kia EV6 also scored well, with the next model down being the Volvo XC40 Recharge and Polestar 2.The popular Tesla Model Y also maintained 92.18 per cent of its battery capacity on average over 10,000km, although ranked 18th in the study, below many VW Group, BMW, and Geely Group products.It is worth noting that this study does not simply transfer across to the Australian market. Many of the EVs delivered to Sweden are built in Europe which often use different battery suppliers to the versions of the cars sold here.In addition, Sweden’s cool climate may produce different results to our hot climate, with different demands placed on temperature management systems, and different pressures placed on batteries while discharging or charging.However, more Australian cars using batteries from Chinese suppliers may actually be an advantage. Lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries from CATL (China’s largest battery supplier) are now pervasive across EVs from many brands sold in Australia. The Swedish study compared the performance of these Chinese CATL LFP batteries, Korean LG Chem batteries and two different types of Japanese Panasonic batteries, all in the Tesla Model 3 to control for model differences.The CATL cells had the highest average battery health, maintaining 93.3 per cent, the LG Chem cells were next at 91.5 per cent, and the Panasonic NMC batteries ranked lower at 89.8 and 88.2 per cent respectively.One factor worth keeping in mind is BYD’s lack of a major footprint in Sweden despite launching there in 2022, leaving it off the study. Not only does this exclude BYD from the ranking system, but it also leaves its batteries out.BYD sells its signature LFP ‘Blade’ batteries to many brands for cars sold in Australia, including Kia, KGM, and even entry-level versions of the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.The study confirms several things - battery degradation is often over-stated, with almost all cars maintaining over 90 per cent capacity at the 100,000km mark, and newer chemistries and temperature management systems are having a notable improvement on battery life across all makes and models.Previous stories of cars losing up to 50 per cent of their capacity were often limited to early-generation NMC batteries using air-cooled technology. Almost all new EVs sold, particularly in Australia, use liquid-cooled cells.In other good news for Aussie EV owners and those considering a second hand EV, the Carla study is not the first time EV batteries have performed better than expected when surveyed en-masse.In Australia, auction house Pickles recently shared data based on its battery health scoring which showed EVs with between 80- and 120,000km were maintaining a battery health score of around 91 per cent.

Hyundai’s much anticipated new off-road flagship SUV, as previewed by the Boulder concept in New York earlier this year, has appeared in patent documents in India.The filing, which provides no additional detail on the model, appears to iterate on the design of the original concept. It shows what appear to be more functional headlights and wing mirrors, physical door handles that didn’t appear on the concept, tweaked designs for the window profile, new black plastic overfenders and a re-designed bumper.Other new details from the single low-resolution image include control arms for the front suspension previously not seen on the concept, as well as a roof platform.The SUV maintains its blocky profile and huge wheel and tyre package, which appears to offer ultra-aggressive approach and departure angles as well as a very high ground clearance.It is unclear at this stage whether the design application filed with the Indian intellectual property office is a later stage concept, or a preview of the eventual production model.As it stands, the changes between this filing and the concept appear to move it much closer to production specifications, while adopting the bar-style LED light designs as seen on other upcoming Hyundai models like the Ioniq V, which is about to launch in China, and the upcoming next-generation Avante (i30) sedan.The Boulder SUV is expected to share its next-generation body-on-frame underpinnings with the also much-speculated-upon Hyundai ute, which will be a bespoke proposition from the Kia Tasman from its sister brand.As to what we can expect to power this dual-pronged expedition into the hotly contested 4WD space, the brand has said multiple times before that it is working on new range-extender hybrid technology, which will have the new off-roaders drive the wheels via electric motors, while having an engine on board serving only as a generator.Hyundai’s local CEO Don Romano previously told CarsGuide this EREV technology is “option number one” for the company’s upcoming ute.He also said there was a lot of considerations for the new product, including difficulties over where it will be built (as a potentially US-first product, it may be built there, which brings up cost competitiveness issues for the Australian market). It may also be built somewhere in the Asia Pacific region for markets in the eastern hemisphere. Hyundai currently has facilities in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam, on top of its home factories in South Korea.Romano also told CarsGuide the ute model at least may take longer than expected, saying the brand would rather “get it right than fast.”By 2030 is currently the expectation, according to the brand.Having both a ute and an SUV as well as hybrid tech from the outset would certainly give Hyundai a unique selling point over the currently diesel-only Kia Tasman.It also has the luxury of monitoring the success of the ute from its sister brand in our market, as well as a growing range of Chinese hybrid off-roaders headed to Australia between now and 2030.The smash-hit BYD Shark, which introduced plug-in hybrid tech to the dual-cab space will soon be joined by an array of rivals, including from storied brands like Nissan, which is expected to launch its highly anticipated Chinese joint-venture Frontier Pro (also known as the Navara Pro in some markets) as a plug-in hybrid in 2027.

A new report from the Australia Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) has shed light over fresh concerns regarding long car repair and refund wait times in Australia.Dealers admitted customers face significant delays to get their cars fixed in Australia, especially EVs. It can take between six and eight weeks for an issue to just be diagnosed due to workshop backlogs.The association said some manufacturing faults can even take months or years to be correctly diagnosedDealers are now refusing to accept tow-ins or diagnostic work for vehicles they did not originally sell due their backlogs.They blamed long wait times on sourcing parts like electric car batteries that cannot be air-freighted and must be shipped instead.Dealers have also pointed the finger at car manufacturers that dispute or mull over approving warranty requests.The report said that only manufacturers can provide remedy for design faults, leaving dealers helpless to appease customer expectations of a swift resolution. The report stated concerns over manufacturers denying reimbursement claims and failing to meaningfully engage with dispute processes. Carmakers are required to make parts and repair available for a reasonable time after purchase, but this is a vague stipulation.The report sets out several Australian Consumer Law reform recommendations to rectify these issues. It said manufacturers should be required to respond to buyback requests within a fixed period.If the manufacturer fails to respond with written confirmation of indemnity, it is deemed to have accepted responsibility. Manufacturers should also be required to join legal tribunal proceedings for alleged manufacturing or systemic defects. The report called for further clarification of consumer guarantees regarding battery degradation and replacement thresholds. This would recognise the inevitable delays of sourcing EV components and developing software solutions.The Australian EV boom is in full swing, with sales surging in the wake of skyrocketing fuel prices and increasingly stringent environment regulations. More EVs will hit the roads in the coming months, with the industry likely to be placed under further strain.

Electric car buyers in Australia are facing a new concern.There are demands for increased responsibilities for car manufacturers to correctly state how long EV batteries should last, according to a report from the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA). The report warns that buyers could face a “wave of litigation” when EV batteries need replacement outside of warranty as their cost could exceed the vehicle’s remaining value.One particular dealer said Chinese-built cars are “not holding their charge” or are “blowing up on fire”.The report suggests manufacturers should be required to define acceptable battery thresholds or disclose the expected degradation of a unit. Most batteries carry an eight-year or 160,000km manufacturer warranty, but dealers are looking for greater clarity on what this means.The new initiative would require manufacturers to provide clear indicators of acceptable battery performance.A battery would be considered to be performing at an acceptable level if it has at least 70 per cent of its total capacity remaining after more than eight years, for example. The EV driving range debate continues to rage on and it remains a substantial roadblock for buyers considering switching from petrol- and diesel-powered cars. Many EVs now boast more than 500km of driving range, but people have also started to recognise that most journeys do not require significant amounts of driving. The convenience and accessibility to home and public charging have also increased the convenience of EVs. Reported driving range figures on a particular car can vary greatly depending on the testing cycle used. The Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) is viewed as the most accurate standard available. Its testing figures often come in noticeably lower than the older New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) and the even more generous China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC).As much as these systems do their best to mirror real-world driving, they can never be truly accurate because of the different ways people use their cars.Consumers often experience range anxiety or disappointment when EVs fail to achieve the range advertised in brochures, according to AADA. AADA has put forward a series of reforms for the Australian Consumer Law to adopt, but it remains to be seen whether any of these will make their way into legislation.