Your questions answered: Which is the best luxury SUV?

The passing of the Electric Car Discount Bill this week has further piqued interest in EVs as people absorb the prospect of saving some serious money.

It adds to the mounting questions people have on electric cars, some of which have peppered the carsales inbox this week. Keep them coming!

We’ve also got some bigger families looking to upgrade their vehicles and step into something more spacious.

Often that points us towards the SUV side of the market, although people-movers can also make sense.

Question: We are looking to replace my wife’s SUV and looking at a number of luxury SUVs. We only need five seats, but it needs to have a large boot to fit our dog and camping gear when we get away. The car will also need to tow a camper trailer that has a tow ball weight of approximately 170kg and overall tow weight of around 1.6 tonnes.

Answer: Some nice equipment in that space and price range. The current-generation BMW X5 is a real return to form for BMW and the Porsche Cayenne is a good choice, although the options can quickly build on the already premium pricing. A good alternative is the Audi Q8, which uses the same architecture as the Porsche and has more of a sporty focus than the larger Q7.

For that matter, the Volkswagen Touareg also uses the same underpinnings as the Cayenne (and the Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus) and is something of a dark horse in the SUV space. Sure, it doesn’t wear a luxury badge, but it absolutely has luxury levels of refinement and equipment.

If you can overlook the requirement for a luxury badge then the Volkswagen Touareg is a fine luxury SUV choice.

Question:

Answer: Kia has said there will be no Kia Seltos hybrid in the near future (that is, this generation), leaving that role to the Kia Niro instead. The Niro costs $50,030 plus on-road costs in GT-Line guise, which is about $7500 more than the equivalent Seltos, or there’s the more basic Niro S at $44,380. If you’re after a hybrid in this segment, there’s the Honda HR-V at $47K drive-away.

But it’s Toyota that has the best options for SUV hybrids right now. The RAV4 Hybrid is in the price range but has crazy waiting lists. If you come down in size slightly – to either the Yaris Cross or Corolla Cross – you’ll be able to get into one far sooner.

Neither gets the senses racing, but each is an honest and thoroughly capable hybrid SUV that lives up to its promise of not using much fuel. Plus, each can be had in two- and all-wheel drive in a range of trim levels.

Question:

Answer: De-speccing cars has been common in some parts of the market in an era of microchip shortages. Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Land Rover are some of the brands that have temporarily removed some items to reduce the number of semi-conductors required. In most cases they have shaved some money off the price to account for the reduced specification level.

BMW/Mini say this was an isolated case. A spokesperson says there were a small number of cars built in March that made it to Australia without the heated steering wheel fitted. Customers were supposed to be offered a $1000 discount to account for the removal of the feature, but that did not initially happen with your car because it had been used a demonstrator so somehow missed the memo on ensuring the customer was compensated.

They assure us you have now been refunded the $1000, which is some compensation but not the ideal scenario if you expected to have warm hands. And, of course, there’s the broader issue about disclosure prior to the sale of the vehicle.

The heated steering wheel is back on the menu for anyone ordering now.

Question:

Answer: Certainly the bulk of the big car action has been happening in the SUV space. The Volkswagen Passat is a relatively spacious sedan, but it’s not going to improve on what you’re already driving. Similarly with the Toyota Camry.

There are plenty of good options in the SUV space, each of which may also allow those not-so-little-ones to drag some mates along for the ride. The Toyota Kluger is a reliable choice and comes with the option of a hybrid system to get those fuel bills down. The Mazda CX-9 has a bit more class but can be thirsty.

There’s the new Nissan Pathfinder, which we’ll have a full local review on next week. It’s available as an eight-seater, which is a bonus over the seven seats that have long been the norm in this class.

Another eight-seater is the Hyundai Palisade. It’s priced from $65,900 plus on-road costs, so may just break your budget once you register it and get it out of the dealership. The diesel engine that teams with an all-wheel drive system (versus the petrol V6 front-driver) is a better bet, but adds $4000 to the bill.

But the recently updated Palisade is a terrific all-rounder with loads of space and good driving manners, as well as the sort of in-cabin attention to detail that helps justify the price tag.

Question: So much for the electric ute. Sure, you can buy one, but according to your review of the LDV eT60 you wouldn’t bother. Which begs the question, when will we finally have access to an electric ute that is worth considering? Is this another one we’ll have to wait years to see in Australia? – Ivan R

Answer: Yeah, the LDV is not great… to put it nicely. Although if we’re taking a glass-half-full approach we can take solace in the fact that it sets a fairly low bar for anything that follows…

And there’s plenty coming.

Rivian has previously stated its intention to sell the Rivian R1T in Australia, albeit a few years from now. There’s also the Ford F-150 Lightning and Chevrolet Silverado EV. All of which are larger utes (or pick-up trucks) than Australians have typically bought.

But there’s a heap happening with EV utes our size, too. Ford, Toyota and RAM have all committed to developing some sort of electric ute, although, again, there’s nothing in the shorter term.

Others with EV ute potentials for Australia include the Radar RD6 (built by Geely), while Chery and BYD are working on options.

For that nearer-term EV ute fix we’ll be relying on conversions, one of the most serious of which is Aussie company Roev. It’s done the political rounds in Canberra and this week we spotted the Toyota HiLux development car driving around Sydney.

It’s a simple formula: take a Ford Ranger or Toyota HiLux and replace the engine with batteries and an electric motor. The conversions are not cheap – from $47,990 to $56,990 on top of the price of the car – but they can be done on cars up to six years old, potentially extending the life of an already well-used vehicle. There is one catch: for now, Roev is only selling to fleets.

But those vehicles should eventually make their way to the used market and there should be private buyer opportunities before long.

Question: Looking to replace Honda Odyssey with future similar electric. Mainly use space and access for disability equipment. How best to determine what is in the pipeline now or waiting? – Denis B

Answer: Chinese manufacturer LDV has just released one of the first EV people-movers in Australia, the LDV MIFA 9. But it is very expensive, with prices starting at $106,000 plus on-roads. Ouch…

Further upstream, you also have the choice of the new Mercedes-Benz eVito at $116,115 plus ORCs, which at that money isn’t the luxurious Mercedes people-mover some may be expecting; for that you need to head for the new Mercedes-Benz EQV, at $155,338 plus ORCS.

But there are more EV people-movers in the wings, one of the most exciting of which is the Volkswagen ID. Buzz – essentially an EV interpretation of the legendary Kombi. It’s not yet confirmed for Australia, but Volkswagen locally has made it clear it wants it here, all of which sounds like a matter of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.

There will be other multi-seat options, too. It’s fair to say the bulk of the attention for future EVs is focused on SUVs, including large ones such as the upcoming Volvo EX90 and soon-to-arrive Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV (the latter will be upwards of $350K).

Buyers snap up more SUVs than people-movers and car-makers typically dangle a line where the fish are biting. There’s plenty happening on that large electric SUV front, including the Kia EV9 and Hyundai IONIQ 7 that are currently in development.

Question:

Answer: The Nissan LEAF is the only battery-electric vehicle (pure EV) currently available in Australia with the potential for vehicle-to-grid functionality. The Mitsubishi Outlander plug-in hybrid also has the same V2G capability, although with a much smaller battery pack (it uses its petrol engine for longer-range driving) there’s less electricity to give up.

But V2G technology is only in its infancy, in part because we still don’t have the regulatory approval in Australia to fit the hardware. Oh, and the hardware required for your house to make V2G work is quite expensive, at something like $10,000.

There is also some nervousness from car-makers around battery warranties; with the potential to utilise the high-voltage battery while the vehicle is parked, it means the battery could go through many more cycles than it would if it was just being used to power the car.

But there’s a heap happening with V2G and many brands saying they are ready to embrace it (Tesla is one that’s been conspicuously quiet on the subject, possibly because a decent chunk of its business involves fitting Powerwall batteries to houses).

Aussie EV start-up Roev also plans to go big on V2G.

Expect plenty more vehicle-to-grid announcements over the next few years.

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