Toyota Corolla 2019 Problems

Hi Sam, I can’t offer financial advice as to whether a lease, car loan, or private loan will be preferable for your individual situation. Leases have been a great way to get into a late-model car while assisting your tax situation, though you do have to be aware of balloon payments due at the end of the lease term. Also consider the value of the car once you’ve racked up plenty of kilometres up and down the M1 freeway each day getting to Newcastle. I’d suggest speaking to an accountant or financial advisor first.

Try a Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3, or a Ford Focus. All would seem to fit the bill.

The 2.0-litre engine would be the better choice for your longer trips where the petrol engine would play a greater role than it will in local driving. If you go for the 1.8-litre you would lose a little performance on those trips, but it would be the better choice for use around town.

Go for a car from a well-respected brand, such as a Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3 or Hyundai i30. All will give you economical motoring, low maintenance, and should hold their value quite well for the next couple of years or so.

Most small hatchbacks have similar width footwells, so I would suggest you try the most popular ones, Toyota Corolla, Hyundai i30, Kia Rio etc. to find the one that’s best for you.

The Corolla is a safe bet for anyone when recommending a car to buy. It has a good reputation for reliability, and its resale is always good. The best one to buy is the latest one that fits within your budget. Another to consider is the Mazda3.

Both would be good buys; it really comes down to which one you like better. Test drive each one and look how they fit your needs and wants.

The space-saver from a non-hybrid Corolla should fit your car, provided it’s from a model from the same generation of Corolla. Don’t forget, though, you’ll also need the correct jack and wheel brace to change a tyre by the side of the road.

The bigger question perhaps, is where you’d store the spare tyre and tools on a Corolla Hybrid. The reason the hybrid model doesn’t have a spare tyre in the first place is that the hybrid’s batteries take up an awful lot of space under the boot floor, where the tyre would otherwise live. Meantime, having a tyre and tools rattling around loose in the hatch area is not only an inconvenience but, in a crash, could be potentially lethal.

The best approach is to buy a car from a well-respected brand, and stick with an Asian brand such as Toyota, Mazda, Hyundai or Kia rather than an European one. Models to consider would be a Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Hyundai i30 or Kia Cerato.

The cost will depend on the variant and year, and if you go to your dealer or not. You can read more about how to replace your car keys here.