Your questions answered: Is the Kia Sportage hybrid worth the extra cost?

Australian car buyers clearly want to reduce or eliminate their fuel bills altogether, but it’s hybrids rather than EVs attracting most attention in this week’s carsales mailbag.

It seems readers are becoming more open to vehicles with petrol-electric drivetrain options rather than traditional non-electrified engines, especially some of the newer options to add to the Toyota hybrids that dominate the sales charts.

We’ve also got a reader looking for a sensible $10,000 to $15,000 small car for a young novice driver, and another who’s ready to make the switch to an EV among the growing list of options in the SUV segment.

Question:

Answer: The value of the full-size spare will depend on where you’re driving and your chances of getting a flat tyre. Gravel roads increase the risk of punctures and in remote areas it can also mean longer repair times.

A full-size spare means a quick exchange to keep you running, whereas the space-saver will be limited to an 80km/h top speed.

The final piece of the puzzle is fuel use. The Sportage 1.6 turbo uses a claimed average of 6.3L/100km versus 4.9L/100km for the hybrid.

The difference in suburban driving would be greater, giving the hybrid more of an advantage. We’d estimate that if you predominantly did city driving you’d probably use about half as much fuel in the hybrid.

So if you were covering 15,000km a year and fuel was about $2 a litre then the savings in the hybrid would be something like $1500 annually.

That means it’d take about three or four years to pay off the price premium purely in fuel savings. But, obviously, there are other factors.

Don’t ignore other hybrids, including the soon-to-arrive Hyundai Tucson Hybrid, as well as the Honda CR-V e:HEV, Nissan X-TRAIL e-POWER and Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.

Question:

The dealer did not have a Ti-L in stock to show us the interior features so he took us to the service centre next door where there was one. The car he showed us was in because of an electrical fault where the car just stopped or wouldn't start. The car had been in the service centre for about one week. They (the dealer and the service person) said that they were investigating the cause and one possibility was that a rat may have chewed an electrical harness. My wife started talking more to the service person about the car but the dealer looked uncomfortable with this and tried to usher us away. This was a red flag to us.

Have you heard of similar electrics issue with the e-POWER? We looked on a forum and there were some similar complaints, albeit they were from a UK forum and from 2023. We just want some comfort in knowing that if we purchase the car, that we're not buying something with faults that Nissan is aware of.

We were also initially told by the dealer that there was an issue with supply of 20-inch wheels that are standard on the Ti-L and offered us 19-inch wheels instead. When I said that I wasn't happy with that option, the dealer said that they received an email from Nissan recently saying the 20-inch wheel supply issue was resolved and it shouldn't be a concern for me. The estimated wait time for delivery is two-to-four months, so I'd like your thoughts if you have heard of this supply issue with the 20-inch wheels and if it's resolved.

Lastly, if we decide against the Nissan, what other cars (SUV) around the same price point – $60K to $65K – and with similar features would you consider recommending for us to look at. It doesn't need to be a hybrid. – George

Answer: Nissan did have a supply issue with 20-inch wheels on the Nissan X-TRAIL Ti-L, so they were offering a discount for taking delivery with the 19s. We wouldn’t have an issue dropping down to the 19s, which have a slightly taller profile for a marginally better ride over bumps.

As you’ve established, the e-POWER hybrid not only uses a lot less fuel but also drives a lot better so suddenly makes the price premium over the underwhelming petrol-only engine a lot more palatable. We’re not aware of any ongoing issues with the e-POWER system, so wouldn’t be factoring that into the decision-making.

Shop around dealers regarding wait lists, though, because different allocations mean different dealers may be quoting different arrival times.

As for alternatives to the X-TRAIL, check out the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and Honda CR-V e:HEV.

Question: I live on the Tasman Peninsula about 95km from Hobart. I have to drive a relatively windy, hilly road to Hobart about once a week. The rest of the time I just use the car to travel 10-15km a day for local shopping or part-time work. I have 20 solar panels (5.4kW) on the roof which provide excess power. I like the feel of the QASHQAI system as opposed to the hybrid, for example, in a Honda HR-V. Am I better off looking at a full EV or is the QASHQAI a good alternative that still saves on fuel costs? – James

Answer: The Nissan QASHQAI e-POWER is a terrific hybrid that will significantly lower your fuel costs. But why not eliminate your fuel costs altogether?

Any hybrid will still use at least 4-5 litres per 100km, whereas an EV will use none. If you can charge it cleverly from your solar system you’ll get those energy costs down to zero.

But even if you’re having to buy electricity from the grid – and all your grid electricity in Tassie is clean – it’ll still be a fraction of what you’d be paying for fuel in any car.

Check out the MG4 for an affordable option – it was rated carsales’ 2023 Car of the Year – or the BYD Atto 3 if you need that SUV space.

The Hyundai Kona Electric could also work well for you, especially as it’s one of a handful of EVs with a spare tyre (albeit a space-saver). Otherwise, the Tesla Model 3 is a fantastic alternative.

Question: We are looking to purchase an electric vehicle this year. We have a short list and would value your opinion as to the best buy among them, or if you have another vehicle then that would also be great.

We want a range of 450km-plus, as we regularly do longer distance highway driving, and the best battery available.

Our list is as follows in no particular order: Renault Megane E-Tech Techno; Lexus UX 300e Luxury; Volvo EX30 Single Motor Extended Range Plus; BYD Atto 3 Extended Range; Hyundai IONIQ 5; Kia EV6 GT-Line; and Volvo XC40 or C40 Recharge Pure Electric. – Sue and Kel

Answer: If straight-out value is high on your list then the BYD Atto 3 is hard to look past. But the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Kia EV6 – carsales’ Car of the Year in 2021 and 2022 respectively – are both better cars with a lot more space.

The Renault Megane E-Tech fights back with a cool design, as does the Volvo EX30, which we haven’t driven yet, but which looks fantastic on-paper.

Cross the Lexus UX 300e off the list. Others outpace it in key areas, including driving manners and interior space. With the other Volvos, the XC40 EV gives you more space for the money (it shares underpinnings with the C40) and is a solid prestige option.

And I’ll stick another on the list. The Kia EV5. It’s coming soon and will be priced from around $60,000, so looks like being a solid option.

One thing to keep in mind with your highway driving is the drop in range at speed. Once you’re travelling upwards of 100km/h EVs use a lot more electricity. To cover 450km without charging you’d need an EV with about 600km of claimed (WLTP) range.

Obviously, if there’s a fast-charger on the route (unless you’re super-remote there will be; check PlugShare for options) then it’d be a circa-15min stop to top-up.

And as someone who’s done a lot of interstate trips in EVs, there’s one brand that stands out: Tesla. The Tesla charging network is fantastic, making it so much easier to cover those big kilometres.

Question: I bought a second-hand Hyundai i30 around 2015. I know Hyundai issued a recall in 2014 for the i30 to address a steering column problem. From what I can ascertain on the internet, it only included 2010 i30s that were made between the start of November 2009 and to the end of April 2010. On the inside of my car door it has a date of 2 June 2010.

The steering column in my car needs to be replaced. A mechanic alerted me to this problem, he told me Hyundai were still repairing this problem as a recall. Hyundai Belconnen don't service my car but they never offered that this has been a recall issue.

Do I have any chance of my car issue being a valid recall? – Susan

Answer: It doesn’t matter where you got the car serviced; if there’s a recall then the manufacturer (via its dealer network) will assist in getting it fixed. Recalls by their nature are a potential safety risk, which is why car-makers are usually proactive in trying to get them fixed.

Obviously, the issue here is whether it’s a worn-out component or a safety recall due to an engineering or manufacturing issue.

If it’s the latter then there should be no issue getting it repaired, no matter how old your car is. You can check recalls on the federal government’s Vehicle Recalls website. We found one that looks like it could relate to your car.

If you’re not having any luck at the dealership, speak to Hyundai’s Customer Care centre on 1800 186 306. To make it easier, have your vehicle identification number (VIN) handy so they can easily check the recalls on your specific car (the VIN will be on that same build plate plaque on the inside of your door).

Question: I’m looking for a second-hand car for the kids, $10K-$15K. Nissan Pulsar around 2014 seems to offer best value. Any tips on what makes to look at and what to avoid? – Neal

Answer: When spending as little as $10,000 on a used car the main thing you want to avoid is buying someone else’s trouble. So check the specific models you’re looking at for wear and tear, service history and tyre condition as a start.

Also consider a professional independent pre-purchase inspection from the likes of RedBook Inspect.

As for Pulsars, they’re a solid starting position as a Japanese-branded vehicle (they were manufactured in Thailand). But there was nothing special about it and other new cars were more convincing.

So also have a look at a Hyundai i30, Kia Cerato and Mazda3 as a way of finding cars with better driving credentials and sharp used value.

And have a look at our recent guide on ‘10 great first used cars under $10,000’ and another on cars under $20,000.

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