Your questions answered: Should my son buy a second-hand Toyota HiLux?

Utes are hot property on the used car market – especially for young blokes looking to buy their first car.

That’s what we’ve got with our reader emails this week, with one mum helping her son buy his first car. But is a Toyota HiLux the best way to go? Or should they be looking elsewhere?

We’ve got another looking to take advantage of the government’s fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption on EVs who wants to know what cars to shortlist.

Plus there’s someone wanting some basic information on a new Lexus (yep, it was tricky to find), and some discussion about waiting for a new small SUV.

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

Question: My son is turning 18 and we are looking for a Toyota HiLux, a four-door 4x4. He has around $45K to spend. Is there a better model he should be looking at and how does it compare to the Ford Ranger? – Carlie

Answer: Clearly you’re looking at second-hand, because there’s not a whole lot of new HiLux 4x4 you’ll get for $45K! And you’ll likely be looking at a 2020 model or earlier to fall within his price range.

The good news is it’s still the same basic HiLux you can buy today, although there have been updates.

The HiLux is a solid ute and one of its best attributes is its well-earned reputation for reliability and durability. Provided the car has been serviced and looked after, it should have many years – possibly decades – ahead of it.

It’s also extremely capable off-road.

But that reputation also brings with it solid resale values that mean you may be paying a bit more than you would for a similar rival. People love HiLuxes and they’re prepared to pay for them.

Check out an Isuzu D-Max and you’ll be able to get a newer version for similar money. Make sure you stick with the current generation car that arrived late in 2020. It’s a solid ute that lifted the game when it arrived (it’s since been overtaken).

The Mazda BT-50 is also worth a look. Whereas BT-50s used to be lightly restyled and rebadged Ford Rangers, since late 2020 (with the arrival of the TF generation) it’s been a lightly restyled and rebadged Isuzu D-Max.

As for the Ford Ranger, it’s an excellent ute and these days sets the pace. But he’d want to get into the current car that arrived in 2022. That’s the model that shifted the ute game along significantly, in turn leading to the Ranger overtaking the HiLux in the sales race.

There aren’t many dual-cab 4x4 models below $45K, but they do exist – and they stepped the ute game up in safety and tech.

Whichever he chooses, I’d encourage him to go as new as possible. The ute market took a while to catch up on safety features and trinkets, so if you go too old you can miss out on some features that are these days considered important (blind spot warning, auto braking, that sort of thing).

The newer utes also tend to have better connectivity, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

And on top of all that, consider whether he needs a ute at all. Utes are great for carrying heavy things and going off-road, but they’re cumbersome around town and can be jiggly over bumps.

Their truck-like underpinnings mean they drive more like a truck than a passenger car, which means compromises for everyday motoring.

Question: I’ve got about $50K to spend on a used electric car. Ideally, I’d like to take out a novated lease to leverage the government’s fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption – assuming Dutton doesn’t get in and get rid of it!

So, which EV do I buy? I’ve looked at the BYD Atto 3 and used Teslas, but at the moment I’m a little confused. – Drew

Answer: If you can take out a novated lease on an EV it’s a great way to pay for it all out of your pre-tax income.

Buying used creates a few issues with the leasing company, so make sure you chat to them first. They may insist on an inspection of the car, for example, to ensure it hasn’t had any issues.

Also, if you’re buying privately the GST will already have been paid so can’t be taken off the price by the leasing provider. Buying from a dealer likely means it will have GST applied, thereby providing a slight benefit.

As for which car to choose, the Atto 3 is decent value and packs plenty in. Performance is decent, although the standard Atlas Batman tyres on earlier cars weren’t great. And BYD has now fixed the previously confusing warranty, something that has been backdated to used vehicles.

A Tesla is still a great buy, too. Despite some corners of social media suggesting the antics of Elon Musk have made them worthless, used car listings would suggest otherwise. They still command thoroughly respectable prices on the used market. You may just be able to sneak into the updated 2024 Model 3 with some haggling.

If you’re not worried about size, check out an MG4. It’s a terrific EV at the lower end of the market.

And there are plenty of Cupra Borns now below $45K, something that makes them an appealing option.

You could also look at a Polestar 2. The updated rear-wheel-drive model is the pick, but there aren’t many in your budget. Still, an older front-drive model is also good buying. The suspension is firm and the back seats are tight-ish, but it delivers on luxury and attention to detail.

Question: I am looking to buy a Lexus UX300h but I’m finding it hard to get full information that covers what the car has.

I need to know about the engine power and what accessories are available, but I can’t get a brochure that would cover those items and more. Can you help basically with hybrid output and anything else that would be more informative? – Keith

Answer: The Lexus website makes you enter your details – including an email address – to get access to a brochure. Understandably not everyone wants to do that; you could always put in a random email address.

We’ll email it to you separately. As you’ll see, the Lexus UX300h has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine making 112kW and 188Nm.

Even then, though, the brochure doesn’t detail the outputs of the electric motor. So we had to dig deeper into the original press released published in 2024.

In short, there’s also an electric motor (or two if you get the all-wheel-drive model).

That front motor makes 83kW and 202Nm. If you go for the all-wheel-drive model it adds a 30kW/84Nm rear motor – and that motor is the only thing driving the wheels (there’s no drive shaft from the engine to the rear).

In both instances Lexus claims a maximum combined output for petrol and electricity of 146kW (like Toyota, Lexus doesn’t quote combined torque figures).

There are three models in the range: Luxury, Sports Luxury and F Sport. The Luxury is front-drive only while the Sports Luxury and F Sport can be front- or all-wheel drive.

Front-drive models can also be optioned with various ‘enhancement packs’ (some of which have a single feature). Some of the features are standard on all-wheel-drive models.

As for enhancement/options, the Luxury can be had with a sunroof for another $2050.

The Sports Luxury can be had with a sunroof, head-up display and smart key card for $2500.

The F Sport can be chosen with a sunroof ($2500) or a $5500 pack incorporating a sunroof, head-up display, 360-degree camera, smart key card and Mark Levinson sound system.

Hope that helps!

Question:

I think you should stay on the case, that now with the Outback and Outback Wilderness being manufactured in Japan, there is absolutely no excuse for Subaru Australia to take two or more years to bring the new-generation models to Australia. This must include the Outback Wilderness with full specifications and available options.

It’s really important that Subaru Australia doesn’t do similarly what Honda Australia did with the new CR-V (from Thailand’s limited supply and constrained specifications) in comparison to the North American model and screw Australian customers by de-speccing their models out of Japan. It’s ridiculous that you can’t buy a CR-V here that has both AWD and a hybrid drivetrain – it’s one or the other.

For example, in the Outback Wilderness article, you mentioned the electronic adaptive dampers (a standard feature) that are designed to increase both vehicle handling stability and comfort, and also the brown Nappa leather seats (available as an option). It would be unforgivable if Subaru Australia deleted these features.

It’s really unacceptable that automotive distributors feel entitled to delete non-black interior options in a country like Australia, which has such a hot climate, and to not provide any choice in the matter.

I’ll probably get either the Outback Wilderness (if it has the brown leather option and adaptive dampers) or see what Mitsubishi releases hopefully later this year in Tokyo with the expected new Delica model (depending on how compelling and true to form it is from the 2023 D:X Concept).

If it’s the Wilderness, I’ll just have to explain to people for the next 10 years why I didn’t get at least a hybrid vehicle. – Anton

Answer: Delays in bringing cars to Australia can be frustrating, although to be fair it looks like the new Outback will arrive here in the first half of 2026.

Sure, that’s not as quick as the US market, but it’s also not looking like taking as long as we’ve seen with some other models.

As for spec options for different markets, sometimes it comes down to local certification, production complexity or product planning trying to keep the model range manageable.

Every option – such as a different interior colour – can effectively mean a dozen or more new models to stock by the time you multiply it by the model variants and colour options.

We’re not trying to make excuses, just pointing out that it’s not always as simple as ticking a box.

And remember, as a consumer you can always park your money elsewhere if you’re not happy with what’s on offer. There are more brands than ever in the Australian market these days.

Question: I currently have a Subaru XV and it’s time to trade it in for a new car. I’m not 100 per cent sold on getting an EV yet, so I have decided on a hybrid and I want an SUV in a similar size to the XV.

I narrowed the choice down to between a Toyota Corolla Cross SUV and the new Nissan Qashqai E-Power.

My local Toyota dealer has informed me the wait for the Corolla Cross is at least 10 months, whereas the wait for a Qashqai E-Power is approximately 12 weeks.

I had previously owned a Nissan Dualis, which I had for five years of trouble-free motoring, so I know what the Nissan cars are like.

One of my main concerns with Nissan is the current financial problems it is having; I would be upset if I got a new Nissan and then the company went broke.

So I would appreciate your comments on the above and any other brand of hybrid cars you would recommend in a similar size to the Toyota and Nissan. – Paul

Answer: The two you’ve shortlisted are among the best on the market.

With the wait on the Corolla Cross, ring around a couple of other dealers. Each dealer has different allocations and the wait times can sometimes vary quite a bit between them.

As for Nissan and its future, there’s obviously a lot of speculation swirling at the moment.

And I’d argue it’s not just Nissan potentially in trouble, but others in the industry. The pressure on Japanese brands in particular is immense, because they’ve been slow to the EV party.

But I’d also be surprised if Nissan didn’t find a lifeline somewhere. There have been talks about mergers with Honda and Nissan already has an alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi.

Who knows, maybe a Chinese brand will see value in Nissan and come up with a deal. So I’m not sure I’d be too worried about that for now.

If you want to confuse things even more, you could stick the Hyundai Kona on your consideration list too. It’s an excellent small SUV and has a great hybrid system.

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