Surprised that these apparently will fit into a standard garage (without accessories).
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Iām surprised by the surge in popularity for American full-sized utes. Theyāre a mammoth on Tassie and city roads, but when I lived in the Spencer Gulf they seem to fit right in on the open regional roads.
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The sad part is that a lot of those SUVs donāt leave the city.
Yes they belong in regional and remote areas.
While I think SUVās are good for big families, I reckon the reason american trucks are picking up in popularity is that utes (made in China, Japan, etc.) are taking ages to get shipped to Australia.
Because of this, I think American Pick-Up trucks are gaining in popularity because they are made in the US and can be shipped directly without much delay, and can carry more than the average ute. (Just need to convert from LHD to RHD)
Plus you have got the ābigger is betterā crowd jumping in on the bandwagon.
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I think this is moreso the reasonā¦ all about ego.
Delivery times with Chinese cars are pretty good now, Korean and Japanese cars are on the improve too but still can be a few months wait, but there are some reasonable stock levels now as long as you are not too fussy on colour, spec level and options.
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If I do go back to an SUV it will only be a smaller one.Small hatchbacks are more suitable for a new driver or a P plater,I should get a good price for my Mazda 2 as a trade in or to sell it privately.
I might want to go on more road trips in the future and Iāll feel safer in a small to medium SUV
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Or maybe Iāll keep my Mazda 2 after all ,not sure yet
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The Federal Government has announced āreversing aidsā will be mandated for newly-introduced vehicles sold in Australia from 1 November 2025.
It will apply to all vehicle categories ā from light passenger vehicles to heavy goods trucks ā under a new Australian Design Rule 108/00 for reversing technologies, excluding a āpartially completed vehicleā, such as cab-chassis utes.
Vehicles introduced in Australia before the initial mandate must be fitted with potentially life-saving reversing aids by 1 November 2027.
https://www.whichcar.com.au/news/reverse-cameras-sensors-mandate-australia-2025
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Does this mean cameras or just beepers?
I think it means both have to be fitted.
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both
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Iāve looked at the websites of Supercheap Auto and Autobarn. If you buy both reverse camera and parking sensors together it will cost upwards of $250, depending on brand. And they exclude the cost of installation.
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yes but doesnt this mean new cars not current cars?
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Sorry I misread the article.
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And it would be impossible to enforce retrofitment on older cars - there will be some cars that you just canāt do this with.
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I looked at a 2020 Mazda CX-3 today, itās just a grown up version of my Mazda 2 the only difference is that it has a DAB radio ,I also looked at a Hyundai Kona ,it was a good car but I think Iāll go with another Mazda if I do trade my Mazda 2
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Iām so used to having a reversing camera now , I couldnāt go back to a car without one
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100% - when i was looking at electric cars a while ago (didnāt end up buying but thats a whole new story) and me & the other half sat down and came up with our list of non negotiable requirements:
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DAB+
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Android Auto / Carplay
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Reversing cams
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No subscriptions for anything like seat heating or that
Any car we wanted ton buy needed to have all of these
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Agree with that list. DAB+ and Sat Nav are non-negotiables for me, along with push-button start (although thereās probably not many cars these days without that?)
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Some base model cars still have the old fashioned key with remote button.
And for me, it has to have a decent quality sound system, along with DAB.
Dual zone air con is nice to have too, I donāt know why! But not essential, i still run mine in manual mode most of the time anyway.
And auto headlights are great tooā¦ But I find rain sensing wipers uselessā¦ they sometimes come on even when itās not raining, so i put mine in manual mode too.
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