Your questions answered: Which is the best mid-size SUV for carrying kids?

There’s a thirst for practicality in this week’s carsales mailbox, starting with grandparents searching for a daily driver to look after the young ones.

At the other end of the scale is someone searching for a new small car for their 80-year-old mum.

In between are some questions about hybrid and electric cars and a look at an expected new arrival from hard-charging Chinese brand BYD.

And someone looking for a hybrid SUV and wondering whether they should bother choosing an all-wheel drive variant.

Question: My wife and I are early retirees but we figure that we can come down to a single car. My wife has a 2013 Mazda3 Maxx Sports and I have a 2017/18 Volvo V40 D2.

Due to having young grandchildren we still need to have two car seats in the back seat of a vehicle, so we are seeking advice on a five- to seven-seater SUV that has the adequate space in the rear seats for two child car restraints and an adult occasionally in the back, without having to remove and reinstall those car restraints again and again.

Is there such a medium size SUV, or do we need to only be looking at vehicles the size of a Hyundai Santa Fe, etc which are really seven-seater vehicles? – Wayne

Answer: The best way to pack kids and adults in comfortably is with more sheetmetal around you and that typically means a larger SUV. A Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento are a good place to start; each is officially a large SUV, albeit towards the smaller end of the scale.

The soon-to-be-discontinued Mazda CX-8 is also a good option, albeit with an ageing engine that’s not particularly exciting. Like the Hyundai and Kia it gets child seat tether points in the third row (not all three-row SUVs do).

You could also check out some of the mid-size SUVs with seven-seat options. The Honda CR-V and Nissan X-TRAIL are a great place to start.

Just be aware that there are no tether points in the third row, so the child seats would need to go in the middle row, which then makes accessing the third row trickier. Each is also available as a five-seater if you think that will do the job.

And while you’re shopping for five-seaters, check out the Kia Sportage.

Given your use case, a five-seat SUV could do the trick. But to some extent it depends on the child seats you’ll be fitting. Some are bigger and bulkier, making it harder for adults to sit alongside if you’re putting two in a single row.

Question: My wife and I are looking for a medium-sized SUV as the main family car. We have a two-year-old but won’t have any more kids. Something like the Toyota RAV4 would be about right but do we need to buy new?

How many years back can we go but still have decent technology? When did they upgrade the last model? We don’t really care about the quality of the stereo.

I’d be looking for AWD because of the difference in towing and I’d prefer to save a few dollars by buying second-hand from a dealer. A new RAV4 wait list is too long. Ideally the budget would be $40K-50K. – Mitchell

Answer: The current Toyota RAV4 was released in 2019 so is in the latter stages of its lifecycle. That said, it still holds up extremely well among its competitors, even if its cabin doesn’t have the freshness of many rivals.

It’s that latest-generation car you want to seek out, too. It was a huge step up on the underwhelming model it replaced, especially if you get one of the hybrid models.

And with your budget you should be able to get something fairly fresh (from the past couple of years), which will benefit from minor updates. The most recent update was in November 2022 and included a larger touch-screen on some models and remote connectivity via a smartphone app.

But don’t rule out rivals, either. The latest Honda CR-V hybrid is excellent buying, although even used examples are a bit over $50K (beware of the older private import hybrids kicking around).

There are, however, plenty of e-POWER versions of the Nissan X-TRAIL in your price range. And the e-POWER is rated to tow up to 1650kg, which is 150kg more than a RAV4 Hybrid AWD.

Also, have you considered an EV? We’re only asking because of the fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption available on EVs that fall below the luxury car tax threshold. It means you can lease an EV by paying for it with your pre-tax income, which amounts to serious savings.

The Tesla Model Y and upcoming Kia EV5 would each provide the space and tech that it sounds like you want.

Question: If the battery that powers the electric motor dies, can a hybrid vehicle still be started and operated? I assume that in a PHEV it would not be an issue, since the electric motor and the petrol engine don’t have any interdependency. In both cases, what would new batteries cost? – Mahesh

Answer: Hybrids are designed to operate with both power sources, especially if it’s a parallel hybrid, whereby the engine and electric motor can power the car together. Take the electric motor out of the equation and you’ll have driveability and performance issues.

The computer of the car knows if the battery is not supplying electricity and will throw up warnings and usually make it so the car can’t be driven.

It would be the same scenario with a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), because once the car has reverted to hybrid mode (as opposed to electric only) it’s still using the battery for hybrid operation and regenerative braking.

As for battery replacement costs, they’re a lot more in an EV because the capacity of the battery is higher. Battery reconditioning on Toyota hybrids is now common and can cost a couple of grand or less.

Battery replacement on an EV generally shouldn’t be required during the normal life of the car. Batteries are designed to last the life of the vehicle.

Keep in mind, too, that a hybrid battery is cycled many more times than an EV battery, again due to its size. That’s factored into the operation of the battery, particularly when it comes to how much of the battery capacity is utilised (EVs and hybrids don’t use the entire battery capacity in the interests of longevity).

Question:

Answer: The short answer is it’ll cost more than what the car is worth. Like engine conversions on old cars, EV conversions are expensive. They typically start at about $50,000 and can easily run into six figures.

So unless it’s a classic car you really want to keep on the road, it’s unlikely to make financial sense.

You’d be better off buying a new EV with a new body, new suspension and the latest tech – as well as the new car smell and a warranty.

Question: My 80-year-old mother drives a 2001 Holden TS Astra City sedan and is now finding the current cost of maintenance to be above the value of the car, so am now looking at another replacement car as an option.

The Astra has a number of key features that would be preferred, such as a driver’s height-adjustable seat, decent boot and split rear seats for carrying longer loads.

Can you please provide any makes and models of cars, as a replacement for the Astra (that would also be long-term supported with parts, if possible)? – Paul

Answer: Check out the Mazda3, which was one of the more popular cars of that era. It was also one of the better equipped small cars of its time, which means it’ll generally have more features – including safety features – than many rivals.

There are plenty of Mazda3s in your price/year range, although obviously try to get one with lower kilometres. And make sure you get it checked out with an inspection to ensure you’re not buying someone else’s problem.

Alternatives could include the Ford Focus, Hyundai i30 and Kia Cerato. With the Cerato you may even be able to sneak into a 2018 model and have some of the balance of the seven-year warranty still in play.

Question: I am interested to know when the BYD Sealion 07 will be in Australia? – Victoria

Answer: The BYD Sealion 07 hasn’t officially been confirmed for Australia and, to be honest, it’s difficult to keep up with the occasionally daunting planned model rollout from BYD.

However, the company has said that an electric SUV to rival the Tesla Model Y would arrive during 2024 and the Sealion 7 (we’re not quite sure if it’ll be an 07 or a 7 and a Sea Lion or a Sealion…) seems to be the most obvious choice.

Like Tesla, BYD often runs late with new models, so don’t be surprised if that stretches out to 2025. Either way, we’re expecting to see it here in the next 12 months.

Question:

Answer: The main advantage is traction on slippery surfaces. If you’re on a wet road trying for a brisk uphill start then the all-wheel drive will be less prone to wheelspin.

Similarly, if you’re on a greasy boat ramp trying to drag a tailer out of the water the AWD would be a better bet (both can tow up to 1900kg).

But in everyday driving the advantages are minimal.

And the Tucson hybrid works differently to a Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. For the all-wheel drive system on the RAV4, Toyota adds another (smaller) electric motor to the rear axle and operates it independently, which means no need for drive shafts to take the power from the front of the car to the rear.

With the Tucson, the single electric motor runs through the transmission and is sent to the rear of all-wheel drive models via a drive shaft.

There are pros and cons to each method.

If you’ve got a question, email us at editor@carsales.com.au.

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