I need to replace my current car. I'd really appreciate some advice on what "new" car to buy (it could be new / demo or secondhand). I want to spend as little as possible (of course!) but I have some non-negotiable "must haves":
1. Reliability
2. Suitability for lots of SHORT trips (eg 10-30 minute round trips) in suburban areas - almost no freeway driving.
3. Heated seats. Seriously!
4. Parking sensors & camera.
I tend to "hold onto" cars for a long time (until they become unreliable / too expensive to repair etc) and the car will be garaged.
If anyone can spare the time to share some advice / recommendations, I'd be so thankful.
Recommend Me a Car Please!
Kategs on 15/02/2025 - 12:24
Comments
- 1
- 2
Re budget, I want to spend as little as I can to get a car that has all my "must haves". I'm open to any brand.
I have a garage so I guess I potentially have capacity to charge an EV? I don't know much / anything about electrics.You are the poster case for a small EV that you granny charge every night
but why did they get downvoted?
some muppets in this forum…
@eddyah: some people base their whole personality on telling anyone that will listen how much they love ICE and how stupid anyone driving an EV is, and vice versa
Assuming a small EV and 10A plug, an overnight charge should be enough to add at least 150km range. If you can access off-peak rates for EV charging (AGL, OVO, Origin etc) your operating costs could be as low as $10-15 a week.
@klaw81: Oh wow quite a saving.
I cant remember are the quicker chargers? Was it called 3 phase charging or something
@ATTS: There are various ways to increase the rate of charge, but they all cost money.
The simplest (and cheapest) way to charge an EV at home is to simply plug into a normal power point, which is available to almost everyone without the need for any electrical upgrades. The downside is that it's pretty slow - hence the 'granny charge' name.
Installing a wall charger can cost $1-3k depending on the location, modernity of your switchboard etc. and can triple the charging rate.
Getting 3-phase power into your house can double the charging rate again, but could cost significantly more again to install depending on what wiring/switchboard upgrades are required. Unless you are regularly driving more than 300km per day, it's unlikely to be worth the expense.
Either way, the electricity itself will reduce your running costs to less than half the cost of petrol, and potentially down to one tenth if you can access reduced EV charging rates from a retailer.
Yeah, a BYD dolphin or MG4 with its 10 year warrenty is probably a good bet.
OP said..
"I want to spend as little as possible"
Presenting Australia's cheapst car with the longest (10 years) warranty…The MG3
Satisfies almost all of OPs criteriaAlternatively check out the Kia Picanto Sport which comes with 7 years warranty
Owners report that they are a great little carOP will have to spend a lot more for unecessary heated seats - Seriously!
You only get heated seats on "premium" models
Probably a factory fitted option on these 2 modelsThe Picanto is incredible value for the money. I'd add the new Suzuki Swift to the list.
these will die an early death with stop go traffic 30 minutes max 16 times a day
10 year warranty…..
Load/passenger capacity & transmission type? Front parking sensors? Only expensive cars have those.
A small or medium sized car is fine. Most of the time the car will be used by me and I'll only have 1 passenger.
It won't be used for towing.
I'm open to any transmission type - but not diesel because I'll only be doing short drives and don't want to be dealing with a blocked DPF.
Front and back parking sensors are a must have, even if that means I need to rule out a lot of inexpensive cars.Transmission: manual or auto. Fuel type: petrol, diesel, hybrid, electric, etc. SUVs with front parking sensors: Kona, CX-3, CX-30, QASHQAI, C-HR, Yaris Cross, T-Cross, T-Roc. You could get a cheap car and fit after-market front sensors.
I didn't know after-market front sensors were a thing. Clearly I've been living under a rock!
Re transmission….definitely auto.
- Heated seats. Seriously!
Delivering Domino's.
Touche and yes, I know it's precious but it's a deal breaker for me.
It is ok. My bum prefers nappa leather too and it is also a deal breaker.
- Heated seats. Seriously!
Let me guess… you're located in the bottom tip of Tasmania?
`you're located in theYour bottom is like the southern tip of Tasmania
Hairy Inlet is close to the southern tip so that makes scents. Cheers
You stink 🦨
Bottom makes scents, cheers!
- Reliability
- Suitability for lots of SHORT trips (eg 10-30 minute round trips) in suburban areas - almost no freeway driving.
- Heated seats. Seriously!
- Parking sensors & camera.
1: Toyota Corolla
2: Toyota Corolla Hybrid
3: Really, it gets that cold where you are? Higher trim level Toyota Corolla.
4: Toyota Corolla Hybrid ZR
- Only applies to the hatch re: parking sensors (much to my chagrin)
Really? How tight does Toyota have to be to cut parking sensors on the sedan variant? (ps: i forgot they even sold a Corolla sedan)
Very. Don't get electric folding mirrors, rear air vents or dual climate control either
Toyota has to compete with cheap heavily subsidised Chinese cars, so they cut trim levels.
Thanks the Toyota Corolla Hybrid ZR seems to have heated seats too.
I have one on order. Just be aware there's still a 6 month wait.
Jealous! I regret not paying a little more for the ZR. Did you choose a fun colour?
This has become a stereotype… The corolla being reliable.
I'm sure it is, but I am also sure that the stereotype came about when all cars were basically became unreliable junk within a decade…
I'm confident that there are as reliable cars in 2025, and so it shouldn't be automatically recommended anymore.
Toyota Camry
/threadBYD Dolphin, install OEM dashcam.
Looks like a good option. Thanks. I wonder what the wait time is though from the date of order?
https://bydautomotive.com.au/inventory?model=dolphin&type=n&… You can now get the Dolphin for only $30k
30k + on road costs. The 30k essential does not have heated seats.
I'm in the middle of ordering the Atto 3 and was estimated a 2 month wait time but arrival date not yet confirmed
Probably easier and cheaper to just get some parking lessons and wait here for the next Katmandu puffer special.
An EV
MG ZS EV Essence $36990
Suitable for short trips
Heated seats
Rear parking sensors.
360 view camera.https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/893334
Not sure if these 20 odd K cars got heated seats. Same car, different drivetrain.
The $29990 Essence is the only one with heated seats
2007 BMW 530i M sport
Your best bet is the Toyota Corolla Hybrid ZR.
You may be able to option up a cheaper model than the ZR with parking sensors and heated seats if youre lucky but the ZR is a great all round car that will last you a very long time if you look after it.
Corolla all the way. Budget range would help.
If you want something to last a long time don't get an electric vehicle.
10 hear warranty on drivetrain. Is that not a long enough time?
On what basis? Shove it in a garage and it will last forever.
All the EV owners in meltdown. Truth hurts!
Truth?
Go on, back up this "truth" with some real evidence from a reputable source. Hint: Facebook posts don't count.
Do you have real evidence from a reputable source for the contrary?
I dont understand peoples desire for heated seats its not like we are in a cold climate like North America, Canada, Parts of Europe etc.
But if 90 % of your driving is very short and you rarely leave the city thats assuming you live in a major city I'd seriously investigate a EV, location of charging stations etc.
I personally dont have a EV as my rural situation and lifestyle a EV would be inconvenient. Though when my daily (family has 3) cars needs to be upgraded i will seriously consider a EV.
"peoples desire for heated seats"
I wouldn't choose a vehicle based on them being included, but it's nice in cool weather to crank the seats and have the window open
.As someone who gets occasional lower back pain, I love the heated seats in my car.
Some places in Australia can get quite chilly, especially in the mornings. Here in Canberra, it's not uncommon to get into the car while it's still -5 outside.
Heated seats are nice to have in such cases, even if the weather is milder, and if I were in the market for a car I certainly wouldn't mind having them as an option.
No such problems in Perth..
I thought heated seats were a gimmick too, but when you are cold, heated seats warm you up a lot quicker than waiting for the engine to heat up amd blow warm air. They are great for short drives.
Might be less necessary in an EV with heat pump heating as it would warm a lot quicker than an ICE engine.
A heat pump is going to take a couple minutes to start warming the air properly - it takes a lot of energy to bring the entire volume of air in a car up to a comfortable temperature in cold weather. A typical EV heat pump can draw up to 4kW on maximum power.
Heated seats will make a noticeable difference within 30 seconds, and toasty in a minute or so, while only drawing about 50-60w per seat to run the heating elements at full blast.
This one of the reasons seat heaters are often standard in EVs - seat heating can quickly make the occupants feel warm without using a lot of electricity.
Absolutely heated seats are quicker and much more energy efficient in an EV. Heating the air around you to warm your body is one of the least efficient ways to do it. The contact of heated seats is what makes the difference.
Everyone is different my dude. Not to mention, not everyone lives in Brisbane or Perth or Sydney. Some places are genuinely cold.
I was happy cycling to work in -5 Canberra mornings, but I can barely function if it’s 27 and humid. My partner on the other hand regularly uses our heated seats any time the Sydney mercury dips below 20.
Absolutely. I didn't experience heated seats until I was nearly 40, and living in Queensland I always thought they were a pointless gimmick. But both of my current cars have heated seats and it's absolutely marvelous on chilly mornings so I'm a total convert. Bonus points for a heated steering wheel as well - so good.
Another advantage of heated seats is turning them on for a stiff back while cranking the AC to cold
I highly recommend a NX Lexus
Can get a really good, one owner for under $30000Ex lease cars My hubbie picks them up and some have done very few ks. Still under warranty. Victoria or Tassie as we appreciate seat heaters. By the way great to keep takeaway warm. Good luck.
in Qld we use them as pizza warmers
Never understood the love for heated seats in Australia….ESPECIALLY since you mention the car will be garaged! A/C in seat, maybe, but heating?
EDIT - hadnt looked at the other comments - apparently im not along!Each to their own. I do a lot of early morning drives. On cold days, I much prefer the instant heat of a heated seat rather than blasting the general heating to warm the whole car. Faster and far more comfortable in my view! And yes, I feel the cold a lot more than most people I know.
WIth any luck the car you choose will also have a heated steering wheel; same thought as @AngusD
Try to find something with a heated steering wheel! I find that even better than heated seats, mainly because I'm wearing clothes (damn this prudish society we live in) that keep me warm(-ish), but bare hands so I feel the benefit of a heated steering wheel even more than the heated seats. I'm not sure how common this is in cars in your price range. I've got a BMW which is probably more than you're looking to spend, but my wife's Mazda 3 also has it so you don't have to buy an expensive luxury car to get it.
I tend to "hold onto" cars for a long time (until they become unreliable / too expensive to repair etc) and the car will be garaged.
Sorry if I'm stating the obvious, but if your budget is high enough, a new / demo Corolla definitely ticks that box. They are not state-of-the-art enthusiast cars. However, Toyota's focus has always been more on building something that is reliable. Toyota have sold over 50,000,000 of the damn things. Parts are easily available and with some items like headlights there are 3rd party alternatives that are significantly cheaper that the OEM equivalent.
We have a 20 year old Corolla (with about 230,000 km on the clock) which we refer to as "the bomb". Because it's old and practically worthless, the only maintenance I do on it is change the oil and top up the radiator. However, it's been tougher to kill than a cockroach. Never given us any problems.
Also, if you are looking at a hybrid, Toyota have the most mature offerings in that area too.
The only caveat all to this is that if you are looking at a second hand one, they tend to be more expensive than other used cars.
Honestly this is the answer. My mum got a brand new one of the new corollas when they first came out. Base model hybrid. I took it on some long trips because she had a fuel card. Extremely comfortable and well made car, surprisingly fantastic seats.
Never seen a top of the line one in any detail, but this far into the production run, with the base model being that good, I’ve gotta imagine they’re superb.
you're looking at 45k DA for a small 5door hatch to get the equipment OP wants
budget?
as mentioned above EVs would fit the bill - you'd really be comparing with the top trim for legacy ICE for the bells and whistles you want, which will blow the budget out considerably where as it's offered as standard equipment in a lot of the new chinese EVsStay away from junk jap/kor/chin cars. Buy a German engineered used VAG car.
missing the /s
If you go down the electric path as others above suggested, check out the GWM Ora. Recent price drops, had the features you want and designed by an ex Porsche designer!
Heaps of threads here about it: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/product/gwm-ora
Happy car shopping!
Small EV on a novated lease may work well depending on income
I'd go a Omoda E5, or byd dolphin.. for a budget EV
but if ur a conformist yawn go a Corolla -
Datsun
I mean a datsun could effectively have all those features
Seats get hot during summer - heated seats
Good on fuel - Great for short trips
Parking sensor and camera can easily be installed and linked to a double dinn head unit lol
very cost effective to buy aswell haha
may spend more on the classic car rego tho240z
120Y with a vinyl roof.
"very cost effective to buy aswell haha
may spend more on the classic car rego tho"
Disagree with these two comments, but otherwise yes
.
Mazda MX-5
Cheapest sports car available to buy brand new in Aus (~$45K)
If you're going to be doing lots of short trips - you may as well be driving something fun
GT trim and up has heated seatsYou won't need to do lots of short trips if you have a bigger car
2025 Toyota Corolla Ascent Sport Hybrid Auto
- Reliability - It's a Toyota with 5-star ANCAP safety rating and it will last forever.
- Suitability for lots of SHORT trips (eg 10-30 minute round trips) in suburban areas - Hybrid with 4L/100km combined fuel consumption, perfect for short trips.
- Heated seats - Heated front seats.
- Parking sensors & camera - Front and rear parking sensors (hatch) and reversing camera.
- I tend to "hold onto" cars for a long time (until they become unreliable / too expensive to repair etc) - It can be passed down to the next few generations.
- I want to spend as little as possible - Brand new with 3/5/7-year warranty for $36k on Carsales but get a few quotes and confirm the warranty details.
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2025-toyota-corolla…
https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-reviews/2025-toyota-corolla…
Fuel Efficiency 9.5
Cost of Ownership 9
Safety 9
Value for Money 8.5
Ride Comfort 8.5
Handling Dynamics 8.5
- 1
- 2
Budget? Do you have the capacity charge an EV at home?