Your questions answered: Do I need a home charger if I buy an EV?

Electric cars inevitably bowl up many questions from the EV-interested. This week is no exception, with one person wanting to know if they need to rewire their house to charge.

But there’s also keen interest in diesel-powered cars, including the latest Kia Sportage and when we’re likely to see an all-new Toyota Prado.

Plus, we look at older European cars for those on a budget and whether buying a car with the backing of a guaranteed future value (GFV) make sense.

Question:

Answer: It’ll come down to how far you drive each day. A regular home power point puts out about 2.3kW of power, whereas a home EV charger (wallbox) delivers at least triple that, some of them more. For most EVs that 2.3kW will add 10-20km of range for each hour you charge it.

So if you’re driving less than 100km per day and can charge for at least 10 hours per night then you’ll easily be able to charge from a regular power point. You just have to be vigilant with plugging in each night. It also means that if you forget to charge for a few days then need to take off on a big trip you could be leaving without a full charge.

Again, it comes down to keeping on top of your charging. If you do decide you need a wallbox then prices start at around $1500.

Question:

Answer: It’s an ongoing question and one even we don’t have a reliable answer to. The best we can do is look at the history. The current 150 Series Prado has been in Australia since 2009 and the typical model life for an off-roader like that is around a decade. The Prado scored a major update in 2015, bringing freshened styling and a new 2.8-litre engine. Changes since then have been minor, although Toyota did drop the option of the V6 petrol engine and boosted the output of the diesel.

Either way, though, the Prado has had a long model life and ordinarily we would have expected a replacement by now. That’s probably in part because it’s had minimal competition (the Mitsubishi Pajero was recently killed off and the Ford Everest started slowly before building momentum). It could also be Toyota scoping out the regulatory environment and ensuring it’s ready for the imminent shift to electrification. Above all, though, the delayed arrival of a Prado replacement could be because demand for the current car is still booming.

Best guesses are that will see a new Prado some time in 2023 before it arrives in Australia in 2024. Either way, if you’re not in a hurry we’d suggest waiting for the current crazy market to cool – 4WDs in particular are hot property – before diving into a Toyota off-roader.

Question: My dearly loved little 2010 Peugeot 207 was recently written off because the driver of a big ute and huge caravan changed his mind at a roundabout and turned from the straight ahead going lane to hit my car hard on the driver’s side as I was in the left turning lane. I’m getting only $5500 for my wrecked car. Would I be stupid to buy a 2008 X-Type 2.1 V6 Jaguar (in excellent condition) for $12,000 from a dealer rather than buying an MG or other more modern but boring car, for much more money? I’d appreciate your advice. I love European cars, a vestige from my dad. – Carolyn P

Answer: Old Jaguars don’t have the best reputation for hanging together over time. Some would suggest new ones don’t either… So you’d be brave committing to one of that era due to the potential for something big to go wrong. The Jaguar X-Type was also not the pinnacle of Jaguar engineering or luxury. It was created when the brand was under the control of Ford and the American giant seemed more intent on getting the British brand to share components rather than create a bespoke luxury experience. As such, the X-Type shared plenty with the Ford Mondeo under the skin. The Mondeo back then was a decent car – but it was no Jaguar.

That doesn’t mean you have to go boring. You can look for more interesting cars that aren’t running too hot in the used car market. A Volvo S60 or V60, for example, or a Volkswagen Passat (or even the sleeker CC version). Another left-fielder could be an Infiniti Q50; granted, it’s not European and Nissan’s luxury brand no longer exists in Australia but Japanese build quality suggests it’ll give fewer issues. As with all older cars, the biggest thing you need to be worried about is the condition of the car and how it’s been treated. At the very least it needs a full service history.

Question: I would like to know if guaranteed future value (GFV) loans are a good idea to purchase a new car. – Bevan P

Answer: Many brands these days offer some sort of guaranteed future value (GFV) program. It’s a way of taking the guesswork out of what the car will be worth once you’re ready to sell it. Most also have flexibility in what they can do with their car at the end of the loan period – it’s usually a choice between hanging on to the car (and paying out the final ‘balloon’ payment), handing it back or trading it on a new car from the same brand.

Whether GFV makes sense depends a lot on your financial circumstances and the economic conditions. Anyone whose GFV loan ended over the last year or so would probably have been crazy to hand the car back, for example, because there’s every chance it would be worth more than the balloon payment. But at other times – and with some models – having that floor on what your car is worth will at least be peace of mind.

As with all financial products, when there’s a risk involved there will usually be a margin built in to favour of the financier. But given the brand loyalty potential for the car-maker they will also often absorb some of the costs to ensure there’s a competitive finance rate – and the chance of selling you into another new car in a few years.

Short story, shop around and make sure you’re getting a good deal. GFVs can provide peace of mind and an easy way to get a new car at the end of the loan, but you’ll often do as well or better by financing elsewhere and/or selling privately when you’re ready to trade in.

Question:

Answer: Diesel engines typically do their best work when cruising on a country road or freeway. Easy, effortless torque makes them a winner for holding speed without keeping the transmission busy changing gears. Around town, diesels have less of an advantage, particularly once you consider the potential issues with diesel particulate filters; they’re prone to clogging if you only do short trips (the fix is relatively easy and usually involves a 20-30-minute drive above about 60km/h).

Looking at the Sportage specifically, the diesel is the pick of the three engines. The basic four-cylinder petrol is undernourished while the turbo-petrol engine has a twin-clutch transmission that doesn’t always engage smoothly. The diesel is the gruntiest and the most enjoyable to drive. So in this instance we’d be leaning towards the diesel.

Also don’t forget to check out the Hyundai Tucson. It gets the same diesel engine.

Question:

Answer: A warranty is only one form of consumer protection on a new car. Australian Consumer Law – as enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) – is more powerful, although it can be trickier to access. If the car is still covered by warranty, for example, then it makes the conversation easier if there’s a fault – and with any luck there’s no arguing. But if you’re relying on ACL you may have to go through your state/territory fair trading body to lodge a complaint or claim. The ACCC also doesn’t define how long ACL should cover a car or its various components, instead using vague terms such as “reasonable time” to describe how long the manufacturer must ensure the vehicle lives up to expectations. It makes things messier and potentially takes longer, which is why a warranty in black and white is far preferable.

And, yes, the Tesla warranty is sub-standard. It’s taken the luxury brands a lot longer to catch up with the minimum five-year warranty coverage offered by most of the industry. And Tesla still ain’t there. At least the expensive and most complex part of a Tesla – its battery – is covered by a separate eight-year warranty (covering at least 160,000km of driving).

Question:

Answer: It wasn’t long ago that manual gearboxes had more ratios than auto. These days it’s the other way around. Blame it on the quest for performance and fuel economy. More ratios gives the transmission a better chance of tapping into the sweet spot of the engine. Although we’ve also heard one engineer suggest that with every additional ratio it’s another opportunity for the car to be in the wrong gear.

Either way, with smarter computer controls there are generally more benefits than downsides to having more ratios. But gear ratios are only one tool in the vast toolbox that engineers use to make vehicles perform better using less energy. There are still some great cars with six-speed autos. Just make sure you’re content with the real-world performance and compare the claimed fuel economy against rivals (keeping in mind that you’ll always use more fuel than the laboratory-derived claim in real-world driving).

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