Best Large Cars of December 2008

Hooray! An affordable large car is back on the charts with the Holden Commodore being massively reduced from its original price (probably around $10,000 less when you consider all the other charges and stamp duty).

#1 Holden Commodore

Base Model RRP: $29,990

Pros:

• Only large car under $32,000


• ESP Standard


• Big 3.6L Engine


• Alloys standard


• Alarm standard

Cons:

• A bit thirsty with fuel


• No full size spare


• Metallic paint extra


• Questions about parent company GM's future

Best Compact SUVs of December 2008

This month the Suzuki Grand Vitara enters the fold and we now have 3 Japanese made Compact SUVs all at the same price of $29,990. It was a tough decision, especially between the Mitsubishi Outlander and Suzuki Grand Vitara, but the Suzuki Grand Vitara won thanks to it not having any cons.

#1 Suzuki Grand Vitara

Base Model Estimated Price: $29,990

Pros:

• Alloy wheel standard


• Full size spare tyre


• ESP Standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• None

#2 Mitsubishi Outlander

Base Model Estimated Price: $29,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Alloy wheel standard


• Alarm standard


• ESP Standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• Space Saver spare

#3 Toyota RAV4

Base Model Estimated Price: $29,990

Pros:

• Full Size spare standard


• ESP standard

Cons:

• Alloy wheels extra


• Alarm extra


• No ESP option

Best Medium Cars of December 2008

No changes except the Toyota Camry Altise has replaced the Hyundai Sonata due to a cheaper price thanks to End of Year sales.

#1 Kia Magentis

Base Model Estimated Price: $23,190

Pros:

• Ridiculously low price


• Alloy wheels standard


• Alarm standard


• Full size spare


• ESP standard

Cons:

• Kia's poor resale value

#2 Toyota Camry Altise

Base Model Estimated Price: $27,990

Pros:

• Alarm standard


• Full size spare


• ESP standard

Cons:

• Alloy wheels extra


• A bit thirsty on fuel

#3 Mazda 6

Base Model Estimated Price: $30,375

Pros:

• Made in Japan


• ESP standard


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Premium unleaded recommended


• Alloy wheels extra

Best Compact cars of December 2008

Not much of a change in the hotly contested Compact cars segment although the Mitsubishi Lancer has reduced in price another $1,000.

#1 Subaru Impreza

Base Model Estimated Price: $24,990

Pros:

• Subaru resale value


• Metallic paint standard


• ESP standard


• All-wheel drive


• Great warranty

Cons:

• Space Saver spare


• Poor fuel economy

#2 Mitsubishi Lancer

Base Model Estimated Price: $20,990

Pros:

• ESP Standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• Space Saver spare

#3 Toyota Corolla

Base Model Estimated Price: $21,990

Pros:

• Full size spare

Cons:

• Metallic paint extra


• No ESP option

Best Light Cars of December 2008

Not much of a change in this category, probably because it's one of the most popular nowadays.

#1 Toyota Yaris

Base Model Estimated Price: $15,990

Pros:

• Made in Japan


• Full size spare

Cons:

• None

#2 Mazda 2

Base Model Estimated Price: $17,768

Pros:

• Made in Japan


• Extra year warranty

Cons:

• Space saver spare

#3 Fiat Punto

Base Model Estimated Price: $19,990

Pros:

• Full size spare

Cons:

• None

Car Reliability

I've always strived to look for a highly reliable car ever since having problems with my current car. I stumbled across the MSN Autos site recently and apparently they have reliablity ratings for vehicles up to 2006. The important thing about this site though (unlike others) is that it actually mentions the faults that may occur with a particular model not some rating based on a customer's perception of quality. Unlucky for me, both faults that were listed as possible became a certainty for me :(.

What? No Best Large Car for November 2008?

Yes, that's correct. Considering the Honda Accord (which just makes it into the large car category anyway) is now a bit over the $32,000 overall price limit, there are no large cars available at an affordable price.

However, I will remain vigilant in case one happens to reach the threshold :)!

Best Compact SUVs of November 2008

With the changes in pricing there's been real shake-up in the line-up for Compact SUVs. The Mitsubishi Outlander is the only former contender to still remain in the list, thanks to its price and 5-star safety rating. The Toyota RAV4 however, has entered the competition this month thanks to a nice driveaway price. The Hyundai Tucson completes the trio being very competitively priced and feature packed.

#1 Hyundai Tucson

Base Model Estimated Price: $23,990

Pros:

• Cheap price


• Alloy wheel standard


• Alarm standard


• Full size spare tyre


• ESP Standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• Small engine

#2 Mitsubishi Outlander

Base Model Estimated Price: $31,250

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Alloy wheel standard


• Alarm standard


• ESP Standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• Space Saver spare

#3 Toyota RAV4

Base Model Estimated Price: $29,990

Pros:

• Made in Japan


• Full Size spare standard

Cons:

• Alloy wheels extra


• Alarm extra


• No ESP option

Best Medium Cars of November 2008

With the Ford Mondeo now being knocked out of the competition due to it being too expensive, we now have the Hyundai Sonata added to the fold (it just beat the Holden Epica, another Korean mid-size car, by features). Kia Magentis is still ahead of the Hyundai Sonata though, thanks mainly to its value for money.

#1 Kia Magentis

Base Model Estimated Price: $23,190

Pros:

• Ridiculously low price


• Alloy wheels standard


• Alarm standard


• Full size spare


• ESP standard

Cons:

• Kia's poor resale value

#2 Hyundai Sonata

Base Model Estimated Price: $29,138

Pros:

• Alloy wheels standard


• Alarm standard


• Full size spare


• ESP standard

Cons:

• None really

#3 Mazda 6

Base Model Estimated Price: $30,375

Pros:

• Made in Japan


• ESP standard


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Premium unleaded recommended


• Alloy wheels extra

Best Compact Cars of November 2008

Subaru has just overtaken the Mitsubishi Lancer thanks to a recent driveaway sale making Subaru Imprezas more affordable than ever (at least if you're expecting to get the hatch model!).

#1 Subaru Impreza

Base Model Estimated Price: $24,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Subaru resale value


• Metallic paint standard


• ESP standard


• All-wheel drive

Cons:

• Space Saver spare


• Poor fuel economy

#2 Mitsubishi Lancer

Base Model Estimated Price: $21,981

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• ESP Standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• Space Saver spare

#3 Toyota Corolla

Base Model Estimated Price: $21,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Metallic paint extra


• No ESP option

Best Light Cars of November 2008

No changes in this category for this month, besides the prices dropping quite considerably thanks to end-of-year sales.

#1 Toyota Yaris

Base Model Estimated Price: $14,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Petrol miser


• Full size spare

Cons:

• No ESP option


• Metallic paint extra

#2 Mazda 2

Base Model Estimated Price: $17,768

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan

Cons:

• ESP extra


• Space saver spare

#3 Fiat Punto

Base Model Estimated Price: $19,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Metallic paint extra


• ESP not available option on 5 door model

Revised selection criteria

For the November picks I will be making a revision to the selection criteria. There will be the same $32,000 limit for this year but in light of the article I posted earlier on car prices being not what they seem, I'm now going to make a rough estimate of the cost if the car isn't at a "driveaway" price (A "driveaway" price usually means that all fees are included so the price you see is what you pay - usually you have to pay stamp duty, delivery fees and statutory charges).

From now on (at least for this year) I'll add an extra $2,300 to the price of the car to include delivery charges (~$1,500), annual rego (~$700) and other fees (~$100). After that I'll multiply by 1.03 to incorporate the 3% stamp duty on cars below $45,000.

This will give a fairer comparison for cars by price. Considering I already painstakingly review ACT prices each month, it wouldn't be much extra effort to reward those that are giving driveaway deals.

This'll also mean the database will most likely shrink to a smaller size since there will be a lot of cars near the $32,000RRP as a base price.

Which colour should I pick for my car?

In the end it all comes down to personal preference when picking the choice of colour for your car, since if you don't like the look of your car, how are you going to tolerate it for the next several years?

There are two things to consider however when picking your car colour and that's resale value and safety.

Firstly with resale value I decided to have a look on data about popular Australian car colours. Unfortunately I couldn't find any definitive study (although a safety article I read indicated that silver then white then black were Australia's top 3 colours) however I did find a DuPont study done in 2006. Overall it seems that silver, black, white, grey, red and blue always tend to be popular choices for car colour and consequently will offer the best resale values.

By region (unfortunately Australia isn't included), this is how it tallied up for 2006:

North America

1. Silver (19%)
2. White (16%)
3. Grey (13%)
4. Black (13%)
5. Blue (11%)

South America

1. Silver (26%)
2. Black (20%)
3. Grey (14%)
4. White (11%)
5. Red (10%)

Europe

1. Silver (28%)
2. Black (24%)
3. Grey (16%)
4. Blue (13%)
5. Red (6%)

China

1. Silver (24%)
2. Black (19%)
3. Blue (17%) <--- So blue is pretty popular in China
4. White (16%)
5. Red (9%)

South Korea

1. Silver (21%)
2. Black (20%)
3. Grey (19%)
4. White (18%)
5. Blue (9%)

Japan

1. Silver (27%)
2. White (24%)
3. Black (16%)
4. Grey (12%)
5. Blue (10%)

It's a safe bet to say that overall, silver is a pretty popular colour, however it's not necessarily the safest colour (as this Monash study shows). White is apparently the safest colour and black cars are more likely to crash (this is probably because it's hard to see them at night). So if you want a safe car and make sure people see you, stick to white.

Best Compact SUVs of October 2008

Thanks to an increase of price, the Outlander is now more expensive than the Subaru Forester. Consequently, the Forester has now taken the lead in this segment whilst the Outlander is still a very respectable second.

#1 Subaru Forester

Base Model RRP: $30,490

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Subaru resale value


• Metallic paint standard


• ESP standard


• All-wheel drive


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Alloy wheels extra

#2 Mitsubishi Outlander

Base Model RRP: $31,490

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Alloy wheel standard


• Alarm standard


• ESP Standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• Space Saver spare


• Metallic paint extra

#3 Nissan Dualis

Base Model RRP: $28,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Metallic paint extra


• ESP extra


• Alloy wheels extra

Best Large Cars of October 2008

Even though many large cars are edging towards the $32,000 limit (I guess they're realising that they'll be even harder to sell in the future thanks to rapidly increasing oil prices), Honda Accord still remains the only choice in this segment.

#1 Honda Accord

Base Model RRP: $29,990

Pros:

• Only large car under $32,000


• Comes with bunch of extras standard

Cons:

• Made in Thailand

Best Medium Cars of October 2008

The Kia Magentis has been bumped up in price slightly (although this may change when their October offers are posted up), however this still doesn't alter the fact that the Kia Magentis is best value for money when it comes to this segment.

#1 Kia Magentis

Base Model RRP: $23,190

Pros:

• Ridiculously low price


• Alloy wheels standard


• Alarm standard


• Full size spare


• ESP standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• Kia's poor resale value


• Metallic paint extra

#2 Mazda 6

Base Model RRP: $27,990

Pros:

• Same price as a Sonata, but...


• Made in Japan


• ESP standard


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Premium unleaded recommended


• Alloy wheels extra

#3 Ford Mondeo

Base Model RRP: $29,990

Pros:

• Safest in class


• Alloy wheels standard


• Metallic paint standard


• ESP standard

Cons:

• Bit pricey


• Bit thirsty with fuel


• Space saver spare

Best Compact Cars of October 2008

Hardly any changes in this category either with Mitsubishi still just in the lead thanks to a reasonable price and ESP standard.

#1 Mitsubishi Lancer

Base Model RRP: $20,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• ESP Standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• Space Saver spare

#2 Subaru Impreza

Base Model RRP: $24,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Subaru resale value


• Metallic paint standard


• ESP standard


• All-wheel drive

Cons:

• Space Saver spare


• A bit pricey


• Poor fuel economy

#3 Toyota Corolla

Base Model RRP: $20,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Metallic paint extra


• No ESP option

Best Light Cars of October 2008

No changes in this category for this month - Prices have remained the same and so have the options.

#1 Toyota Yaris

Base Model RRP: $16,390

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Petrol miser


• Full size spare

Cons:

• No ESP option


• Metallic paint extra

#2 Mazda 2

Base Model RRP: $16,500

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan

Cons:

• ESP extra


• Space saver spare

#3 Fiat Punto

Base Model RRP: $19,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Metallic paint extra


• ESP not available option on 5 door model


• A bit pricey

October News

Before announcing the best choices for October 2008 (and there hasn't been much change at all), I thought I'd go through the news in terms of car deals/sales in Canberra this month:

- The Chrysler Sebring now has an alarm included as standard

- Dodge are running a deal where the Caliber and Avenger get free alloys.



- The new Holden Barina is now available so the price is up to $15,990, however no new technical specs have been posted on the website yet.

- The Holden Viva's price has been reduced to $16,990

- The Holden Astra now doesn't include alloy wheels as standard

- The Holden Epica has dropped in price from $27,990 to $25,990

- The Hyundai Elantra has dropped from $19,990 to $17,990

- The Hyundai Tucson has dropped from $24,990 to $21,990

- The Jeep Compass (which is almost identical in specs with the Jeep Patriot) has
been added to the evaluation database

- The Toyota Camry is on special: An Altise Auto will go for $27,990

- The Suzuki SX4 S Sedan has been reduced to same price as base model ($19,990)

- The new Renault Koleos compact SUV has been added to the evaluation database.

- Painting costs are extra on Mazdas so evaluation database has been changed
accordingly.

- Citroen, Fiat, Kia and Peugeot failed to post October Offers in time so prices
quoted are normal RRP for these manufacturers.

Buying a New Car - How much does it really cost?

At first glance, a car might not seem too expensive when looking at it's base Recommended Retail Price (RRP). However, what some people fail to consider are the other costs like dealer delivery, statutory charges and extras that the dealer will inevitably try to sell you.

Canberra Toyota has been helpful in this regard in that they give you the cost of statutory charges and dealer delivery.

So let's use their figures as an example.

Let us say that we've decided to purchase a Toyota Yaris YR 5dr 1.3.

Base RRP = $16,390

The base RRP doesn't include metallic paint or the safety pack (the latter probably being pretty worthy of consideration since it's a light car).

Metallic Paint = $300
Safety Pack = $750
New total = $17,440

Now onto the extra charges. As we can see from here, this is what you can expect to pay extra:

Dealer Delivery = $1,495
Establishment Fee = $60
Insurance = $30
Annual Registration = $608-777 (The figures have actually increased for the ACT. Since a Yaris has a tare weight of 1,000kg this means that it'll cost about $630 to register)
Stamp Duty = 3% (for a Yaris as its price is below $45,000 - I'm also assuming this applies to the revised price after you've added extras) = $523

Therefore the final total is $20,178

"But wait there's more!"....

Most dealers will try and convince you to purchase other extras like paint protection, window tinting and rust proofing.

Doing a bit of research on this I've discovered according to the NRMA, window tinting is nice, but unnecessary, paint protection is usually adequate on new vehicles nowadays (but if you want to do it you can do so at a fraction of the price dealers charge) and rust proofing is just about useless. So if you can, try and resist the urge of spending on these extras because they can easily add an extra $1,000-2,000 to the price of your vehicle. If you want to do paint protection, apparently spending about $200 on a DIY kit will suffice.

New Cars and Facelifts for September

Suzuki Grand Vitara

Apparently the new generation Vitara is already here but it doesn't look like the site has been updated to reflect that - Features include new engine sizes and ESP standard and other safety features standard across the range.

Holden Barina

The Holden Barina has already had its 2009 model released however they're still offering the older Barina (at a reduced price) so until this transition is made, the older Barina shall remain the reviewed car.

Renault Koleos

Renault is releasing its first SUV in Australia. Interestingly, it's actually made in Korea though (I don't believe there's been a French branded car in Australia that's been sourced from Korea before).

Fiat Punto

A Fiat Punto facelift is to occur in September-October.

Kia Picanto

A micro-car by Kia may be introduced September-October called the Picanto

Kia Magentis

An upgraded version of the Magentis is coming in September-October. This could be why the Magentis was sold for so cheap last month.

Peugeot 107

A micro car by the French manufacturer is expected to arrive September-October.

Toyota Yaris

A facelifted Yaris is expected to arrive September-October.

Best Cars of September 2008

No changes in the current rankings, so you might as well check the previous entries for Best Cars of August 2008:

Best Light Cars of August 2008
Best Compact Cars of August 2008
Best Medium Cars of August 2008
Best Large Cars of August 2008
Best Compact SUVs of August 2008

However some news this month:

- Version 2 of the Honda Jazz has been released. Changes are cosmetic (functionally and aesthetically) and it consumes 0.1L/100km extra fuel. Australians will apparently still receive them from Thailand.

- Renault Megane's sale is over and its price is back up to $25,490 RRP.

- The Subaru Impreza sedan is now available in Australia. It appears to be the same price and almost identical in terms of specs (although it's apparently heavier with the same performance characteristics as the hatch, go figure :)).

- The base model Holden Epica now has a diesel variant that is exactly the same price as the petrol variant which is interesting since usually diesel options are more expensive than petrol ones.

- Ford Escape has a reduced price of $29,990 - still doesn't get it in the top 3 of SUVs though (due to its 4 star ANCAP rating)

- Peugeot have decided to offer an extra 3 years to their standard 3 year car warranties this month. This still didn't get the Peugeot 207 into the top 3 Light cars (since it was still the most expensive 5 star ANCAP rating car in its class).

Best Medium Cars of August 2008

#1 Kia Magentis

Base Model RRP: $22,990

Pros:

• Ridiculously low price


• Alloy wheels standard


• Alarm standard


• Full size spare


• ESP standard


• Excellent warranty

Cons:

• Kia's poor resale value


• Metallic paint extra

#2 Mazda 6

Base Model RRP: $27,990

Pros:

• Same price as a Sonata, but...


• Made in Japan


• ESP standard


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Premium unleaded recommended


• Alloy wheels extra

#3 Ford Mondeo

Base Model RRP: $29,990

Pros:

• Safest in class


• Alloy wheels standard


• Metallic paint standard


• ESP standard

Cons:

• Bit pricey


• Bit thirsty with fuel


• Space saver spare

Best Light Cars of August 2008

#1 Toyota Yaris

Base Model RRP: $16,390

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan


• Petrol miser


• Full size spare

Cons:

• No ESP option


• Metallic paint extra

#2 Mazda 2

Base Model RRP: $16,500

Pros:

• Safe


• Made in Japan

Cons:

• ESP extra


• Space saver spare

#3 Fiat Punto

Base Model RRP: $19,990

Pros:

• Safe


• Full size spare

Cons:

• Metallic paint extra


• ESP not available option on 5 door model


• A bit pricey

Best Large Cars of August 2008

#1 Honda Accord

Base Model RRP: $29,990

Pros:

• Only large car under $32,000


• Comes with bunch of extras standard

Cons:

• Made in Thailand