CHAMPAGNE EDITION

IAIN CURRY GETS ANSWERS

CARS@NEWS.COM.AU OR PO BOX 2808, GPO SYDNEY, 2001

Hooray! Last week we had a full Motoring section without a single SUV or dual-cab ute. By the way, the Hyundai i20N looks tempting. Ray Kapel, email

I had a track blast in the i20N and it’s a brilliant little hot hatch. We’d love to write more about performance cars, hatchbacks and sedans, but the vast majority of Australian buyers prefer SUVs and utes.

I use the term “once around the clock” to denote a car that’s done 100,000km, but my spouse disagrees that’s the phrase’s meaning. I assume it refers to when analog odometers had only five numbers, which reset from 99,999 to 00000, and not to current digital odometers, which show at least six numbers. Melanie Lau, email

The origin is as you say: 100,000km meant once around the clock as your odometer rolled over to 00000km. Mercedes-Benz claims to be first to introduce a six-digit odometer on its 1971 350 SL.

MIRACLES HAPPEN

Re: battery life, our 2010 Holden Barina has done 310,000km on its original battery and hasn’t missed a beat.

Alan Jones, email

That battery life is a marvel, but a Barina engine managing over 300,000km is a deadset miracle.

Re: battery life, my 1990 Mazda Bravo has just received its first battery replacement. That’s only because I accidentally left the headlights on all day.

Mick Olden

Good grief!

My 2018 Subaru XV has travelled 24,800km. I’ve been told the tyres will probably need replacing at its next service. There’s 2mm

Paul Todd, email

It’s typical for front tyres to wear out faster than rears on all-wheel-drives, so hopefully the dealer rotated yours. Minimum legal tread is 1.5mm, and you can easily check this yourself. Tyre pressures, tyre balance, wheel alignment and driving style all affect tyre lifespan. Yours are wearing a bit early, but not dramatically so.

Kevin Bourke, email

Not all Territory owner stories are this rosy, but yours shows it’s possible. Just don’t ever total how much you’ve spent on fuel over the years to manage those 400,000km.

I read with mirth your comment regarding 1980s Toyota Corollas surviving a nuclear holocaust. Having been involved with Toyotas during that era I know they are not as you espouse. I don’t know where journos get this dribble from. Early Toyotas rusted badly, upholstery fell to pieces, had oil and shock absorber leaks, problematic engines and more. When are we going to get balanced opinions from actual experience? I’m confounded by an illusion perpetuated by some who are not in charge of the facts. Jim Stanfield, email

Number one rule of motoring journalism: report as you find. I’ve owned 1976 and 1984 Toyotas. One took me from Perth to Brisbane and the only repair needed was cleaning a battery terminal. The 35-year-old is still going today having lived the past 15 years by the sea. My comment wasn’t meant to be taken too seriously, but I’d still argue Toyota’s reliability trumps most.

Re: engines and towing, it’s not number of cylinders but torque that counts. Look at 6.0litre

tread left on the fronts and 3mm on the rears. The dealer said because it’s an all-wheel-drive tyres wear out faster. Is this true? Re: the Ford Territory being one of the best Australian-made vehicles, our 2007 is 412,000km old and still going strong. It’s been used for ski trips, has towed a caravan, boat and trailer and been used as accommodation with a mattress inside. It’s comfy, had few problems and it’s power means it’ll pass anything. Except a petrol station.