Your questions answered: Should I flip my new Ford Ranger V6 for a profit?

There’s nothing like diversity in the motoring world, something we’ve got in spades from this week’s carsales e-mailbox.

There’s no shortage of interest from the family car brigade looking for a new set of wheels.

One buyer even wants to make a quick profit on his new Ford Ranger to take advantage of a shortage of V6 stock. It’s a hot-button topic – and receiving mixed responses from car-makers, as we’ve reported.

Plus, we’re looking at good small cars and something to replace the trusty Ford Territory.

It’s also clear that interest in EVs is still running strong, with electric utes again popping up in our weekly questions.

Question:

Answer: The idea of making money on new cars is a relatively short-lived phenomenon. Don’t expect it to stick around too long. That’s because it’s all related to supply and demand; currently there are more people wanting a V6 Ranger than Ford can pump out of the factory in Thailand. That mismatch is likely to be addressed in coming months, at which point we’ll go back to the usual scenario of new cars depreciating the second you take delivery of them.

So, short story is if you just want to make some pocket money then go for your life. You’re in a nice situation in terms of not relying on that particular car for transport. We wouldn’t be sitting on it in the hope of making more money, though, because we’d expect the supply and demand equations to get back to some form of normality before long.

Also be prepared to temper your expectations compared with some of the prices you see advertised. Clearly some sellers are trying it on to see what they can get. Just because a car is advertised at a high price doesn’t mean it will sell for that price.

Question:

Answer: If you really want the best family vehicle then the Kia Carnival should be somewhere near the top of your list. It’s got a far more spacious third-row seat than any of the seven-seat SUVs. And it can carry up to eight people – and their luggage. Most SUVs carry very little once you’ve maxed out all the seats.

Of course, people-movers are a tad unsexy for some, although we’d argue the Carnival has some suaveness to it.

Assuming you’re locked on to an SUV, we’d rule the Prado out first. Sure, it’s a terrific SUV but is better suited to off-road duties than everyday running around town. There’s a lot of hardware underneath that it seems you’re unlikely to use – dual-range transfer case and towering ground clearance among them.

With more of an on-road focus, the CX-9 will be a far nicer car around town. Plus it has child seat anchor points for the third row of seats (a lot of SUVs don’t).

While you’re in the Toyota dealership check out the Toyota Kluger, which is the direct rival to the CX-9. It’d be a better bet for you than the Prado and also has the option of an (expensive) hybrid system.

Also check out the Hyundai Palisade, which has up to eight seats and loads of space. It’s a terrific option for large families and comes with an excellent diesel engine option.

It could also be worth looking at the new Nissan Pathfinder, which hits dealerships soon, and don’t forget the Kia Sorento – carsales’ Best Family SUV for 2022.

Question: My teenage kids are fast growing up and it’s quickly becoming apparent our RAV4 is not up to the lanky legs and brash hair styles. My husband really wants a dual-cab ute but I’m thinking an SUV may suit us better. Can you help? – Nat H

Answer: Dual-cab utes may have the bulk on the outside, but none are particularly spacious in the back seat – at least when compared with some of the bigger SUVs. A Toyota Kluger or Hyundai Palisade could do the trick. Each has big middle row seats unlikely to fluster a growing teen.

If you really want to try something radical you could look at a Kia EV6 or Hyundai IONIQ 5, each of them EVs. They may look more compact from the outside, but designers have leveraged the packaging advantages of smaller electric motors to create a seriously spacious cabin.

Question: I’m a ute driver and am happy to look at an electric ute, but there don’t seem to be many options yet. Why not? When will I have an option to switch to an EV? – Andy O

Answer: Electric utes are already a (big) thing in America, so much so that manufacturers can’t keep up with demand. In Australia there are none currently on the market but there’s one coming before the end of 2022: the LDV eT60. It won’t be cheap ($80K-plus), has a relatively short driving range (330km), is only two-wheel drive and can’t tow anything like as much as a diesel ute (1500kg).

In 2023 we’re also expecting to see the first of many EV conversions of existing utes from the likes of Roev, H2X and SEA Electric.

Short story is electric utes are on the way, and if you believe a report released this week by the Boston Consulting Group, we could be buying them in massive numbers by the end of the decade.

No doubt it’s the ones eventually set to come out of Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen and Nissan factories that will be of most interest to many ute buyers. It seems we’ll have to wait a few years (at least) until we see those in Australia.

And don’t expect any to be cheap. EVs generally tend to have a price premium and that’s likely to flow through to the ute segment. Expect the emphasis to be on lower total cost of ownership (TCO) rather than a sharp entry price.

Question:

Answer: The Territory really was a unique vehicle that many have found difficult to replace. Clever design and some of the best SUV driving manners made it a winner with Aussie families. Ford has tried to replace it with the Everest and Endura, the latter largely unloved and short-lived.

The latest Everest is a terrific car, but it’s a very different vehicle to the Territory. It’s designed to tackle challenging off-road tracks, something that was never in the Territory’s remit. The compromise for the Everest is that it’s not as composed in the suburbs as the Territory.

The MU-X is also solid buying and focuses more on value than the Everest. Like the Everest it can tow up to 3.5 tonnes. Forced to choose we’d head to the added polish and refinement of the Everest, which is also available with a sweet V6.

Also consider some of the more car-based diesel SUVs , such as the Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento. Both will drive better on-road than the two currently on your shortlist, albeit without the adventurous spirit of the Everest or MU-X.

Question:

Answer: The small car market still has plenty of impressive options to choose from, although not as many people are flocking to them as they once did. Both those on your shortlist are impressive options. The Subaru wins on space where as the Cerato takes over on driving enjoyment courtesy of a punchier turbocharged engine and local suspension tuning. Its seven-year warranty also makes it that little more tempting.

The Corolla ZR is also worth a look, although its back seat is tight. We’d still pop the Cerato ahead of it, although it’s also worth looking at the Hyundai i30 N Line, which shares much of its mechanical package with the Kia. And don’t forget the Mazda3, which still ranks highly among the carsales team.

Question: I live in Townsville and am looking at buying an electric car. Would I need a charging facility at my home? I have a Toyota Corolla Sport 2.0-litre petrol car (at the moment). – Geoff R

Answer: Some people can own an EV without any off-street parking if they have good access to public charging stations. Plugshare is a good place to start and it shows that Townsville has a decent smattering of higher-powered (faster) DC charging outlets.

But charging at home is one of the big appeals of owning an EV thanks to the convenience. Whether you need a wallbox charger or can get away with a regular power point depends on how much driving you plan on doing. A standard power point should add up to 10km of range for every hour you have the car plugged in, so if you’re doing less than 100km per day you could easily just utilise that regular power outlet.

If you’re doing bigger drives more regularly then a wallbox will at least triple that rate of charge. In other words, you could drive at least 300km per day and still have a fully charged vehicle from an overnight charge.

Got a question but don’t know where to find the information you need? Email us at editor@carsales.com.au

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