Wheels inbox: Letters to the Editor, October 2022

Parting ways

I just read the September issue of Wheels. Regarding Angus MacKenzie’s column ‘New Disrupters’, from someone who wants an EV and has been patiently waiting on VW to release some here in Australia (having owned VWs for 22 of the past 23 years, and is now buying a Tesla Model 3) I agree with Angus’s general thrust.

But the one aspect not mentioned in which these new companies, including Tesla, are not competitive, and frighteningly so in my opinion, is in the area of aftersales service and spare parts.

How often do I read that someone is waiting months for roof glass for a new Tesla Model 3, or a new door panel to replace one damaged in an accident? And Tesla service centres show a remarkable amount of ambivalence to the problem. This is what will come back to bite them.

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They’ve got to get better after the car leaves the delivery room. Tesla, BYD, Xpeng and all the other ‘Disrupters’ might have the sale now. But if they can’t ensure their aftersales service and spare part accessibility in the future, we all might buy Tesla now, like I’m about to, only to go back to VW, Toyota, Kia, Hyundai or another of the “established OEMs” for our next EV.

So, why am I buying Tesla then? I want an EV, love the Model 3 interior (it looks like the future) and now that it’s manufactured in China, has a good standard of fit and finish. I’m just hoping not to have to find out first hand about the aftersales service / spare parts lottery...

Rod Davies, Baldivis, WA

Andy: While old Elon might have a thing or two to say about how easy electric vehicles are to manufacture, Rod, it’s a fact that the soft science of building the supporting infrastructure and the culture of the brand is infinitely trickier. And therein lies the challenge for this new wave of car companies. What do they stand for and what do they mean to buyers?

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Rebooting COTY

I read with great interest Andy’s September Ed Start and am heartened by his desire to reform Wheels and innovate the magazine and the online platform.

As part of this review and soul searching, may I suggest you revisit the Car of the Year award also. To my mind, you have continued to assess and award the Car of the Year looking too much on it being something that Wheels has done for more than 60 years without more than the occasional tweak and living off something created so long ago. You are leveraging off your past.

You really need to start with a clean sheet to take COTY forward into the future as a meaningful award.

Rereading the 2022 Car of the Year, I cannot see how you can compare such a diverse bunch of 21 different cars to come out with one winner. It’s a meaningless comparison across the board against the six criteria.

A Merc S450L just does not compare in any meaningful way to an i20N or to a Landcruiser 300, a BRZ or a Kia EV6. All interesting stuff, but the outcome is somewhat meaningless to the motoring public. Unless you are in the market for a mid-sized electric SUV in 2022.

Richard Lamb, via email

Andy: As you suggest, the Wheels COTY award has served a purpose in the past, but whether it’s still a relevant and valuable award today is something to which we’ve been giving some thought.

For what it’s worth, my viewpoint mirrors yours almost exactly, Richard. The judging criteria tend to funnel verdicts towards all-rounder SUVs. Time for a rethink?

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EV budget hole

I have a concern regarding the transitioning of the Australian fleet to electric vehicles.

I know the question has been floated asking how will the revenue be raised to negate any decline in fuel tax? So far this concern is just discarded to one side, a can to be kicked down the street.

It is easy for any government or opposition to spruik tax cuts or incentives to reduce the purchase price because the number of vehicles in the foreseeable future will likely be relatively negligible.

There is no doubt economies of scale will reduce EV prices. However, when the bottom line of the federal budget becomes severely impacted by falling revenue from fuel taxes then the government will have to fess up and advise where else are they going to get their funding.

EVs have plenty going for them, however they still need roads.

It is a dishonest practice to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles, with a major pillar of the argument being the ‘savings at the bowser’, without a transparent plan of what happens once we
get there.

Mike Riordan, Campsie, NSW

Andy: I’ve long felt that it would be irresistible for federal government not to tax remaining fossil fuel users through the nose, thus killing a flock of birds with one stone

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Scale models

We’ve been in Australia since 1996 and been fortunate enough to have had a ridiculous number of cars from a Subaru Legacy to a Lotus Exige S, via a couple of V8 Hemis and pretty much every type of car in between. However our latest has been something of a revelation. It’s not fast, it’s not expensive; it’s a Kia Picanto GT. A 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbo, with a manual ‘box, and I can’t recall when I’ve had so much fun day-to-day driving.

In the Picanto you find a backroad and row up and down the ‘box from corner to corner and re-discover the enjoyment of driving again without (too much) unwarranted attention from the constabulary.

We know that ICE cars are on their way out so if you want a last blast before it’s all over you could do far worse than getting behind the wheel of Kia’s smallest, but probably most enjoyable car.

Spencer Harrison, Wallan, Vic

Andy: Yep, we love ’em. Solid choice

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The question: Would you like to see a diesel version of the new Raptor?

With 98RON costing better than two bucks a litre, I’d love to see a Raptor that won’t break the bank to refuel. Question is whether Ford
has a diesel engine that would work in such an installation.

Alan Graham

Haven’t we been there and come away a bit underwhelmed? Diesel’s a tech from the past. A performance hybrid? Now I’d be interested in that.

Kostas Kalaitzidis