Buy A New Car
Will Car Ownership Rise in the Post-COVID Era?
New car sales have slumped all across the world due to the impact of COVID-19. Australia’s result last month, showing a near 50% drop in new car registrations, paled in comparison with some of those seen overseas, where the dive in sales was upwards of 95%.
With lockdowns keeping motorists at home, as well as the economic repercussions associated with job losses also weighing on sentiment, there has been an abrupt halt in sales across the industry. That’s not to say the local market was showing signs of growth beforehand, with two years of month-on-month declines setting the backdrop.
However, while it’s not yet being translated into sales at showrooms across the country, there is a growing sense of interest and buying intent being recorded among potential new car buyers.
Interest returning to the market
Just a few weeks ago, between April 18 and April 27, Carsales surveyed more than 3000 Australians. The company noted that 45% of non-car owners have changed their views regarding primary transport preferences.
In addition, the company’s findings suggested that 58.5% of respondents were more likely to consider buying a car, including 38% of all participants who are keen to buy a car right now. On the other side of the equation, just 21.9% of non-car owners were less likely to consider buying a car.
Rounding out the results, a significant 36.8% of non-car owners signalled they will probably use public transport less, with another 17.8% more likely to avoid using ride share services.
What’s driving demand?
From a position of financial standing, those who can still afford a car in this current financial climate have greater scope to negotiate a bargain due to excess stock. Add in record-low interest rates and those who have been holding off for a while are now in a good position to start shopping around.
More prominently, however, amid the pandemic it’s no surprise that people’s habits and perceptions of safe behaviour are changing. With social distancing being instilled into communities everywhere, it’s all but set to stay for the foreseeable future. This comes even with evidence that Australia has handled the health crisis far better than most other countries around the world.
There are two driving forces here. On the one hand, there will likely remain underlying health and hygiene anxieties among many, particularly those with existing health conditions that they may wish to manage. Convenience is also sure to prove a driving factor, with public transport set to come with hurdles in terms of limited supply and reduced capacity.
What does it all mean for the market? It certainly looks like Australians could shift back towards car ownership, despite slipping in recent times.
How do you feel about the near and mid-term outlook for commuting to work? Do you have concerns around sharing public transport and are you more likely to consider looking for a new car?
VFACTS Says The Cliff Is Here, New Car Sales Plummet.
Figure released by VFACTS on May 5th show that the Australian new car market has taken a hammering from the Covid-19 lockdown. Compared to April 2019, sales are down by a massive 48.5% in new vehicle numbers, with just 38,926 units sold. in context however, it’s still a tick under 1,300 units per day. The YTD or year To date figures aren’t quite as drastic, though, with figures for April totalling 272,287 sales, down from 344,088 in 2019. This measures out as a 20.9% decline.
In brand respect, Toyota’s Corolla, Kia’s Cerato, and the Hyundai i30 took the top three places in the sub-$40K segment, with 27.3%, 19.6%, and 15.9% respectively. In the $40K and above price range, the Mercedes-Benz A-Class sold 217 for a whopping 44.1% market share. BMW’s 1-Series came second with 116 units or 22.1%, with the Audi A3 and BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe tying for 3rd, with 65 units each and 12.4%.
In the medium car segment and sub-$40K, the Toyota Camry smashed the field, selling 675 units for a 74.5% share. The next was the Mazda 6, with a paltry 71/7.8%. Skoda’s Octavia just edged the outgoing Kia Optima by 5 units, 39 vs 34, for a final share of 4.3%.
BMW took the crown in the above $60K bracket, with the 3 Series moving 254 for a 43.9% share. 2nd and 3rd went to Mercedes-Benz, with the CLA-Class and C-Class. Respectively 94 and 87 found new homes, making a share of 16.3% and 15.1% each.
For the Large Sedan segment for under $70K, there were three, being the Kia Stinger, the outgoing Holden Commodore, and Skoda’s Superb. The Stinger sold 75 units for a 70.1% share, the Commodore a shadow of its former glory with just 30 and 28%, whilst the Superb was invisible with just 2 or 1.9%. There was a surprise in the over $70K bracket with the Maserati Ghibli claiming 3rd spot. 11 were sold for an 11.8% share, but it was Germany taking the crown, with the E-Class from Mercedes-Benz holding off the BMW 5 Series, with 36 and 30, for 38.7% and 32.2% each.
In the People Mover segment Kia’s aging Carnival still won hearts aplenty, with 220 units or 68.3%. The Hyundai iMax was 2nd, moving 30 units for 9.3%, just ahead of Honda’s Odyssey, for 26 and 8.1%. In the pricier $70K and above area, Toyota’s Tarago replacement, the HiAce based Granvia, battled a similarly LCV based duo from Mercedes-Benz, with the V-Class and Valente notching 9 and 7 behind the 10 for the Granvia.
Ford’s Mustang continued to dominate the Sports Car market in the sub-$80K segment. 146 or 43.5% sold, more than double the BMW 2 Series with 62/18.5%. Above $80K and it was the 4 Series from BMW, selling 50 for 31.3%. The sibling Z4 was 3rd at 16/10.0% whilst Mercedes-Benz slotted in at 2nd with their C-Class Convertible/Coupe moving 38 for a 23.8% share.
In the hotly contested SUV brackets, inside the SUV Light, Mazda’s CX-3 doubled its nearest rival, the VW T-Cross, with 394 and 188, or 38.3% and 18.3%. In the Small SUV, sub-$40K segment, Mazda again featured, with its new CX-30 2nd behind the Toyota C-HR. 480 vs 452 for a share of 14.0% and 13.2%. 3rd went to Hyundai for the Kona, pipping the Kia Seltos by just one unit, with 379 and 378, making a share of 11.1% and 11.0%. BMW nailed top spot in the above $40K, with the X1 selling 22 for a 27.2% share.
Things were much, much tighter in the Medium sub-$60K battlefield. The bulldog faced RAV4 won the day with 1,911/32.4%, ahead of the 648/11.0% Mazda CX-5. For third it was an amazing tussle, with the Subaru Forester just edging ahead at 510/8.7% over the Hyundai Tucson (494/8.4%), Nissan X-Trail and Mitsubishi Outlander (469/459 and 8.0%/7.8%) and Kia’s Sportage at 439/7.5%.
Above $60K and it was the same, with BMW’s X3 1st at 263/22.5%, and tying for 2nd with the X4 and GLC-Class from Mercedes-Benz both on 162/13.9%. Just behind was The NX from Lexus, with a 12.0% share and 140 units. In the Large SUV and under $70K, Toyota’s Prado swept all before it, with 947/25.9%. In a distant 2nd place was Izusu’s MU-X at 339/9.3%. 3rd went to Toyota and the Kluger with 313/8.6%. The BMW X5 took the crown above $70K, with 232/29.3%, ahead of the GLE-Class from Mercedes-Benz at 117/14.8% and the Lexus RX just behind at 106 units for 13.4%.
In the Upper large segment, Toyota’s soon to be replaced 200 Series LandCruiser blew away the Nissan Patrol, itself recently refreshed, at 924/86.0% vs 150/14.0%. In the same segment but at $100K and above, BMW’s X7 lead the field ahead of the GLS-Class from Mercedes-Benz and the LandRover Discovery, with 34/19.1% and 28/15.7%.
Heading into the Ute segments and Toyota’s HiLux won both the 4×2 and 4×4 sectors. In the 4×2 the HiLux was a clear leader on 456/36.9% but not quite so tight in the 4×4. Here is was 1,883 for 26.9%, ahead in this sector to the Ford Ranger on 1,419/20.0%. The D-Max 4×2 was 2nd in that class with 198/16.0, putting the Mazda BT-50 to 3rd on 147/11.9. 3rd in the 4×4 was the outgoing Holden Colorado, with 780/11.0%.
Finally, in overall sales for April 2020, Toyota was a clear leader with 10,325, ahead of Mazda (3,022) and Kia (2,492). On a YTD, it’s Toyota, Mazda, and Hyundai replacing Kia, with 60,396, 23,766, and 18,941, just under 1,000 units ahead of Kia.
2020 Hyundai iMax Elite: Private Fleet Car Review.
This Car Review Is About: The passenger version of Hyundai’s durable iLoad commercial van is called iMax. There’s a pair of normal doors up front, a pair of sliding doors on the sides, and a rear horizontally hinged door. It’s exclusively diesel and auto for the drive-train, and in the Elite has eight leather covered seats.
How Much Does It Cost?: Hyundai’s website lists the iMax Elite as $48,990 driveaway as of April 2020. That’s with a Creamy White exterior. Go for Timeless Black, Hyper Metallic, and Moonlight Cloud (silver and blue), it’s $49,685 drive-away.
Under The Bonnet Is: 441Nm of torque, and they’re on tap between 2,000rpm and 2,500rpm. The auto is a super smooth five speed unit, and although seemingly needing a cog or two extra, still manages to deliver a figure of that Hyundai quotes as 8.8L/100km for the combined cycle. Otherwise they quote 11.2L/100km for the urban, and 7.3L/100km on the highway, a figure where a seven or eight speed transmission would help. Considering a starting weight of 2,135kg and a GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) of 3,030kg, it’s a sterling effort however. Tank size is 75L. By the way, it’s a rear wheel driven beastie. Twing is rated up to 1,500kg braked.
On the Outside It’s: A van. But having four colours and not just a fridge white makes a difference. Contrasting panels low down bring a subtle two-tone experience visually. There are also 215/65/17 alloys and Hankook Ventra LT tyres, with the wheels looking more like they should be on something a little more sporting oriented. The sliding doors have pop-out, not sliding windows. Up front it’s a more modern look for the grille and headlight cluster, and there are driving lights set low down in the bumper.
Overall length is 5,150mm, with width and height providing a reason why vans are described as boxy at 1,920mm and 1,925mm respectively. The sliding doors are manually operated, not powered, nor is the rear door powered. The washer fluid jets spray in three thin jets and could use more pressure.
On The Inside It’s: Not surprisingly quite roomy. Given the cubic shape of the are behind the driver and front passenger, leg, head, and shoulder room are better than adequate. Head room is 1030 / 1018 / 987 mm for the front, centre, and rear, with leg room measured as 70 – 1039 / 839 / 765 mm, with shoulder room at 1632 / 1695 / 1627 mm. The front and centre seats have a sunroof as well. There’s beige leather and plastic trim in the iMax Elite, plus there was carpet and carpet rugs over the normal linoleum style floor.
The centre row seats have the familiar front mounted pull-rod in order to slide them, and a manual handle down on the side to fold. This allows easier access to the third row seats. Behind them is over 800L of cargo space, so for a family, plenty of room for a pram, bags, shopping, etc.
The driver’s dash display betrays the commercial origins, and oddly even down to not showing fuel usage nor a Trip B display. It’s a very basic speedo dial, rev counter, and fuel setup, and could really benefit from a higher class look.
Auxiliaries in the form of heat seating and venting, rear seat aircon controls, and USB port are found in the centre console, along with a pull out cup holder. There is, though, no dedicated space to hold a phone, even allowing for a shallow cavity up top. Audio via the basic Hyundai family 7.0 inch touchscreen is AM/FM only with no DAB, and again something that should be a little more upmarket by having that as standard. But there are apps for the smartphone access and Bluetooth for streaming.
On The Road It’s: Very quiet, even under load. The iMax Elite hums along with little fanfare being drawn to it. It simply gets up, gets ready, gets going. It’s mightily smooth in the way it rides and handles, but the high up seating position and cargo-van softness in the suspension, plus the dual purpose tyres, mean some corners are, by necessity, taken at a slower speed that most other vehicles.
The five speed auto, even allowing for the fact it’s only a five-cogger, is superb. It is as smooth as you can get in changing ratios up and down. This applies as equally to flat highway runs as it does to climbing or descending sloping roads. There is a manual shift option via the gear selector but that was ignored purely because the ‘box does such a good job on its own.
There’s a bare minimum of turbo-lag from the get go. The maximum torque is pretty much where highway velocities have the revs rolling to provide it, which means a gentle press of the go pedal, that silken drop back a cog or two, and access to 441 torques is there. The lack of turbo-lag helps too, as it means less effort and time waiting for the engine to deliver helps in the overall driving presentation.
The steering is in the Goldilocks zone; it’s not too heavy, not too light. This makes for three point turns on a suburban street, or in a loading zone much easier to deal with. It also made our excursion to a Blue Mountains lookout for a couple of photos via a gravel road as comfortable and unfussed as it should be. No bump steer, no tramlining in the gravel and mud, and a pose with Jessie and Nelson, (two local equine residents that gave the iMax Elite the hoof of approval), which was set up by reversing twenty metres or so, simple due to the just-right feel.
The brakes could do with some more bite and feedback though. There just wasn’t as much coming through from the pedal to state with certainty that the pressure being put down was gripping the discs as much as they could be. Ride quality is good enough, considering the iMax’s origins and the MacPherson strut/live five link rear axle.
What About Safety?: Hmmm….could be better. The spec sheet says side and front airbags for the driver and front passenger. It doesn’t say side/curtain airbags though. It’s rated as four stars by ANCAP. The second and third row seats all have adjustable head rest heights and the second row has ISOFIX mounts.
What About Warranty And Service?: For the warranty, the Hyundai website says: If the vehicle has been used for private and domestic purposes and is not and has not been previously used for a commercial application, including but not limited to taxi, hire, rental, courier, security, driving school, tour, bus operator or emergency vehicle. Vehicles used at any time for “commercial application”, as defined in the vehicle warranty policy, are excluded. Passenger vehicles that are or have been used for a commercial application are provided with a 5 year/130,000km warranty (whichever occurs first). An iMax that is used or has been used for a commercial application is provided with a 5 year/160,000km warranty (whichever occurs first).
Servicing information may vary so contact your Hyundai dealership.
At the End Of The Drive. The old saying, “for what it is” applies to the Hyundai iMax Elite. It’s a people mover that is based on a light commercial vehicle. That needs to be taken into consideration. So, for what it is, it’s ok. It’s not possibly what it could be, but for what it is, it does well enough.Given it’s a sub-50K vehicle, a few extra touches would still have it well competitive in price and lift the overall appeal, perhaps just enough, to make a little bit more of a dent in SUVs that cost more and do much of the same role.
Check it out in more detail here.
Ladies Looking For A Long-Term (Motoring) Relationship
It would be fun to run something along the line of a personalised matchmaking service but for cars, meaning matching people to cars. If you’re not a motoring enthusiast, the range on offer out there can be bewildering. What’s the best car for your lifestyle that’s going to suit you? While we might not be able to provide this sort of service – or at least not yet; we do our best to make the process of buying a great new car easy – we can at least describe a few lifestyles and types and make suggestions to help you find the new love of your life… in the automotive sense.
Of course, even if you can relate to any of these people, there may be other great cars out there that suit you to a T (whatever the T that suits you is) and that you love, so unless it’s totally impractical, you are allowed to go for it!
Ladies first, so here’s three typical, almost stereotypical, people and the sort of car that would suit each one best…
Busy Mama: Andrea has two children, aged 7 and 4, as well as a part-time job at the local dentist’s, where she works as the receptionist. Each day, she has to get the kids to school and kindy, get to work, then pick up the kids, get Jack to after-school soccer practice (and the match on Saturday morning), and grab some groceries a couple of times a week on the way home. A few nights a week, she leaves the kids with her husband and goes for a night out with the girls (lucky her!), which, at her stage of life, involves a book club but not the amount of alcohol that would put her over the limit to drive home. There’s the odd trip to the movies, shopping trip and visit to her mum’s to be done in the car as well. The car has to be prepared for all occasions, meaning that the cabin and/or storage has to hold a few packs of nice healthy almonds or not so healthy muesli bars for emergencies when the kids are hangry, spare sweaters for when Jack left his at school, pen and paper for last-minute notes to the teacher, the reusable shopping bags, a lipstick, and somewhere to stash all the rubbish. then the groceries and school bags have to fit in as well. The budget’s a bit tight until little Violet starts school and Andrea can pick up more hours, so a frugal car is a must.
Best car for Andrea could be: Mazda 3 or a Mazda 2, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, Hyundai i30, Suzuki Swift…
Mazda 3
Dog Lady: Meredith has been on her own for quite a few years now since the kids left home, got married and provided her with grandchildren. For day to day purposes, the doggies are her children. Meredith has three dogs, each of which gets nothing but the best in the way of food, entertainment and medical care. Meredith is still active and mobile, but the dog park, where she chats to other doggy enthusiasts and lets the pooches have a good run, is a bit far for a woman of her age to walk with three lively dogs in tow. When it’s not being used to ferry the dogs to the dog park, the grooming parlour or the vet, it is used to collect the groceries, most of which is jumbo packs of dog biscuits and doggy treats. Now and then, it’s used to pick up some of the kids Meredith teaches piano to.
Best car for Meredith could be: Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav4 or Kluger, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi ASX, Subaru Forester or Levorg, Nissan X-Trail, Ford Mondeo Wagon, Mazda 6 Wagon, Holden Commodore Sportswagon, Peugeot 308 Touring or 3008, Volvo XC60 or XC90 or V90…
Honda CR-V
Gen Z Getting Started: Kristy has just finished her nursing qualification and is in her first job at the local hospital. The hours are long and it can sometimes be a hassle finding space in the staff carpark, but she’s enjoying the work, mostly. Exercise is a great way to shake off some of the stress, so Kristy often stops off at the 24-hour gym on the way, so her yoga mat, stretchy bands, trainers and lycra leggings are always in the car, except when they’re in the wash… which is usually done at the laundromat on the way home. On her days off, Kristy likes to hit the beach and catch a few waves on her surfboard, stopping at the farmers’ market for fresh produce (sourdough bread, check; organic avocado, check; free-range eggs, check… hope the suspension’s soft enough that the eggs don’t crack on the way back home).
Best car for Kristy could be: Subaru Forester or Levorg, Nissan Qashqi, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla Wagon or Hatch, Honda CR-V, Kia Sportage, Hyundai i30, Mazda 2 or 3, Mazda CX-3, Renault Megane, Suzuki Vitara or S-Cross, Volvo V40, Volkswagen Golf, Skoda Rapid…
Subaru Forester
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