HORSES FOR COURSES IAIN CURRY GETS ANSWERS
WRITE TO MOTORING AT CARS@NEWS.COM.AU OR PO BOX 2808, GPO SYDNEY, 2001
PUBLIC SHAMING
Re letters about electric cars, you say they’re best for city types, but why would you want a car if you live in the city? Get public transport. We’re near Phillip Island where most residents aren’t fortunate enough to have regular buses that go where we need them. A car is really the sole means of getting around.
Chris Day, email
Traffic and parking aside, the convenience and comfort of using one’s own car is hard to give up. Quite rightly, we Aussies love our cars. My local council puts on free buses each school holidays, but locals and visitors still drive. City folk do get the best public transport, but many living there are wealthy enough to prefer sitting in gridlock for hours in their Benzes. Maybe when buses get heated, vented and massaging leather seats that situation will change.
SUPPLY AND DEMAND
In Richard Blackburn’s Haval H6 Hybrid review he stated the wait time for its Toyota RAV4 Hybrid rival was “roughly 9 months.” I visited a Toyota dealership last week and was told it’s now 18 months. The same dealer was selling a non-hybrid 12,000km RAV4 for more than the price of a brand new one as its waiting list was six months. “People don’t want to wait,” was their excuse.
Gail Anderson, email
Wait times for the RAV4 Hybrid and new LandCruiser 300 are huge and constantly changing. Toyota’s continuing advice is to contact local dealers to discuss latest delivery information – I’ve done so and they have different wait times. I’ve spotted delivery mileage RAV4 Edge Hybrids at $72,000 and RAV4 Cruiser Hybrids for $70,000. That’s $15,000 over Toyota’s drive-away price for new ones. A big premium for those who don’t want to wait.
SEAT STRUGGLES
My son has three kids aged under nine. They wanted a new Toyota HiLux dual cab ute but found it had only one child seat anchor point. Is there any way to fix this or are there similar vehicles with three anchor points? Graeme Dickie, email
Installing child seats in dual cab utes is usually a nightmare. Many buy dual cabs as family transport but fitting the required top tether straps from child seats to behind the rear seats is very tricky. Sometimes they are just woven fabric loops rather than metal. The HiLux actually has two Isofix points and two top tether anchors so you could fit in two car seats. The eight-year old could use a booster seat with adult lap-sash seatbelt. Is a dual cab the only option? Unless you need its tub for work, a better family option is a ute-based SUV. The HiLux-based Fortuner is comfier on the road, tows 3100kg and will hardcore off-road just as well. I’d favour an Isuzu MU-X with three Isofix points with matching top tether anchorages across the middle row of seats. If it has to be a ute, third party companies can fit additional ADR-compliant anchor points.