Your questions answered: Which luxury sedan has a full-sized spare wheel?

It’s the topic sure to fire car buyers up: spare wheels.

It’s also something one of our readers is searching for this week in the hunt for a new luxury car.

We’ve also got readers interested in new small SUVs, a market segment that continues to boom in its breadth and scale.

Plus there’s someone searching for a heavy-duty tow machine that isn’t a ute. As someone stepping away from a luxury SUV it narrows the field.

To finish off we’re looking into the latest mid-sized SUV to get some rough-road brawn – and whether it will come to Australia.

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

Question: I am keen to replace my Lexus IS with a luxury vehicle that is both easy to slide in and out of and has a full-size spare wheel. What are my 2025/26 choices? –Paul

Answer: Hmm, things get tricky with many cars and full-sized spares, more so in the luxury space. Luxury and performance cars typically have big wheels and tyres, so often don’t allow space for a spare.

We’ve scoured the new cars on sale at the moment and there’s nothing in the luxury passenger car space (sedans, hatches, wagons) we can find with a full-size spare.

The best we can do is a space saver spare, which is available on various models (Audi A3, Lexus ES, Genesis G70 and others).

Many, however, have a repair kit.

Even looking at cars that were once safe houses for a full-sized spare – Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata – you still need to compromise with a space-saver.

Once you step up to SUVs there are many more options with a full-sized spare, including various Land Rovers and Range Rovers (interestingly, though, many of them also now come with space savers, something that would never have happened many years ago). Plenty of the proper off-roaders will obviously also give you a full-size spare: Toyota Prado/LandCruiser, Ford Everest, etc.

If you want to stick with Lexus the GX will give you a full-sized spare, too. But it’s more of a climb into the cabin than your IS and is also a competent off-road vehicle, which comes with its compromises (bulk, cornering competency, etc).

Related: Does my new EV come with a full-size spare tyre?

Question: I need a new car and have had Hyundais for my last two cars. So the Kona is of interest to me. I went and drove one and I really like it. But I’m also wondering what else I should be looking at. The Toyota Corolla Cross looks good.

I commute regularly to Newcastle from Sydney but also spend plenty of time buzzing around Sydney. Short story is I’m on the road a fair bit – and I also like a bit of power!

I want a hybrid, not an EV, because I don’t have anywhere to charge it at home. – Fiona

Answer: You’ve started at the pointy end of the small SUV field. For all-round value the Kona is the pick at the moment – just. I say ‘just’ because, like anything, it’s not perfect, but it is very good.

If performance is your thing then it’s definitely worth checking out the Corolla Cross. It’s quite punchy by small SUV standards. It’s also impressively economical. You pay for the privilege, but Toyota residuals are traditionally strong, so there’s a good chance it’ll look after you when you go to sell it.

A left-fielder is the Nissan QASHQAI e-POWER. It uses only an electric motor to drive the wheels but has a petrol engine to create electricity. It’s not quite as efficient as the Hyundai and Toyota but the driving experience is very good, with terrific response and driveability.

The Honda HR-V is also great, although it only has four seats.

Question: I am currently driving a BMW X5 which has served me well – now at 310,000km.

I'm actively seeking a next car which will need to have a 3.5-tonne towing capacity to handle a horse float loaded up to about 2.8 to 3.0 tonnes.

I am also constrained by the width of the car, with a garage able to fit a vehicle around 1994mm wide (the X5 width fits with a couple of inches of breathing space).

The car will need to have a level of comfort as I drive up to 30,000km per year and my back requires a kind ride (I also want heated seats). Budget is up to $50,000. Considering something later than 2016. I have reviewed the market and the list is very short – i.e. Range Rover Sport or Land Rover Discovery.

I am concerned about the reliability of the Range Rovers and have been advised not to go for a TD model due to the crankshaft issue.

Do you have any thoughts on whether the Range Rover Sport or Land Rover Discovery is the way to go? Is it better to go for an SD rather than TD? I'll plan for an extended warranty but is this all that's on the market based on the above criteria?

I've had Jeeps in the past, though the Grand Cherokee is likely too wide. Discovery would just fit. Prado doesn't do 3.5 tonne until the latest model. X5s with 3.5-tonne towing are few and far between.

I don't want a ute and I want a car with a reasonably comfortable ride. – Caroline

Answer: Land Rovers will certainly do a decent job of pulling your horse float, although as you’ve alluded to reliability is a potential issue. Problems with out-of-warranty Land Rovers can get expensive, so it’d pay to get a thorough inspection prior to popping down any money.

As for choosing between the two, obviously the Range Rover is more luxury focussed so will typically give you less bang for buck when you’re lining them up feature for feature.

But the Range Rover Sport’s smaller body may work better in your garage.

I’m not aware of the crankshaft issue. But keep in mind the SDV6 and TDV6 are essentially the same engine with a different tune and hardware tweaks (the SD makes more power).

Either way I’d be looking at the service history and usage of a particular vehicle rather splitting the two on badge.

Towing capability is easy to come by in a Ford Everest.

It has serious off-road capability, which typically comes with compromises. With a ladder-frame architecture underneath (the same sort of things used for utes) it doesn’t have the surefooted manners of more road-biased SUVs.

That said, the Everest is among the best of the breed.

But, as with any off-roader, try to learn more about the history of the car you’re looking at; best to find one that’s been doing the school run rather than something that’s explored Australia.

Another option swinging back to the more road-focused side is a Volkswagen Touareg. It’s a luxury vehicle in everything but badge, with a quiet, supple ride and a good choice of engines.

It’s also rated to tow 3.5 tonnes, although the towball download is lower than usual, with a maximum rating on the models you’re looking at being around 260kg.

That may be okay with what you’re looking to tow, but you’d obviously have to check the numbers before hitching the float up.

The Audi Q7 shares much of its underpinnings with the Touareg and also matches its 3.5-tonne tow capacity for many recent models. And it also has up to 350kg for its towball download rating.

Question: I live in regional NSW and drive a Suzuki Swift – brilliant little car around town. However, for longer trips – like to Brisbane, which is five hours away – it is rather rough and getting more difficult to get in and out of.

I have looked at the Mazda CX-3 and Toyota Yaris Cross. Not sure about hybrid, but haven’t driven either.

I would appreciate your expertise in these and other vehicles that you may recommend. I have a budget of around $35K.

Thanking you for your advice. – Jenny

Answer: It sounds like a small SUV will suit you nicely, mainly to give you the extra height to make ingress and egress a tad easier.

Some of the entry-level small SUVs may not give you much of a step up in terms of country road touring comfort, though.

The CX-3, for example, is terrific around town but is not much bigger than a Mazda2 (it has the taller stance of an SUV, but not much extra space inside). And it’s starting to show its age. Terrific value, but there are newer cars that are more convincing.

The Yaris Cross is one. Again, it’s basic motoring, but the hybrid drivetrain helps with performance. If you can eke another $5K out of your budget it’d be worth looking at a Corolla Cross while you’re in the Toyota showroom; it’s a bigger and more convincing car all round.

Also check out a Hyundai Kona. It’s one of the standouts in that small SUV class. It drives with the maturity of a bigger car and still offers decent value. That said, you’ll only just sneak into the entry-level model with your budget, but even then it comes reasonably well equipped.

Question: I’ve always loved Honda cars. I’ve currently got a 2018 Honda CR-V AWD 1.5-litre turbo. It’s okay but I’ve already put aftermarket front and rear sway bars on it to make the car more stable and stiffer. Then I have fitted good trail-terrain tyres.

I do between 30,000 to 35,000 kilometres a year.

I’m about to buy a new 2023 or 2025 Honda CR-V hybrid RS. It only comes in front-wheel drive in Australia.

l just found out the new 2026 Honda CR-V AWD hybrid TrailSport is coming to America. Do you know if there are plans to bring this car to Australia?

I think there would be a market for it.

If not, I will look at the upcoming 2026 Subaru Outback Wilderness. – Robert

Answer: Honda is still not saying whether the TrailSport is heading to Australia, although we agree that there would clearly be a market for it. Anything that looks more rugged and capable in the SUV space tends to be a winner in our part of the world.

Honda says the immediate focus for CR-V is expanding the hybrid line-up; for now it’s a single top-of-the-range model, whereas Honda has previously said it plans to expand the hybrid love more broadly across the range. Hopefully there’s also a chance of an all-wheel-drive hybrid somewhere in the mix, too.

As for TrailSport, while it seems like a logical move, it’s not quite as straightforward as ticking a box.

Manufacturing of the CR-V for America is done in the US and Canada and the new TrailSport is coming exclusively out of the Indiana plant.

Our CR-Vs are sourced from Thailand and for now that plant is not manufacturing TrailSport variants. That’s not to say it won’t (the engineering work has been done) but there would likely have to be new suppliers found to provide the TrailSport-specific components.

It’s a similar story to Subaru with its Wilderness models. Australia wanted them but they were being manufactured in America. And while Australia’s eagerness finally got the tick of approval, we’re still waiting Down Under.

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