Small Car Buyers Guide
The Sun Herald
Saturday May 30, 1992
TWO startling facts: the average age of private new car buyers in recession-ravaged Australia is getting close to 50.
And the the most popular car among these non-business buyers last year?
The Ford Laser GL.
Those snapshots of our rapidly-changing new car profile come courtesy of confidential automotive research.
They give the lie to the traditional image of the family buyer neatly packaged in a locally-made six-cylinder car.
Demand for the sixes does, however, remain very high among private buyers-but significantly as second owners, after the vehicle has performed two to three years service in a company fleet.
Business and commercial vehicle registrations are keeping the cash registers for medium and large cars slowly ticking as more and more private buyers fall out of the new car cycle. As private demand dries up (now less than 45 per cent of total car sales) everyone wants a $10,000 to $15,000 used car.
Whether the older buyer/smaller car trend is a temporary, recession-induced phenomenon is open to question. Right now, car sales are not much better than last year (down, in turn, 23 pc on 1990), with the only star performers appearing in the small-car market.
The future, according to the experts, is for more of the same with small-car imports eventually strangling the locally-assembled variety.
The Pulsar's switch to imported status from October this year is likely to start a trend.
Toyota is making loud noises about the viability of making Corollas in Australia beyond 1993 while Ford's plans for the Laser-plant are decidedly hazy once the current model wraps up a couple of years hence.
The popular image of cigar-chomping fat cats denting our current account deficit with their Mercedes and BMW luxo-liners is already a long way from the truth.
The reality is that fully 50 pc of our total automotive imports are small, cheap cars and the number is growing.
Any guide to the who's who of the small set must contain a few words of caution.
Prices should be used as a guide only.
With some models, the recommended retails serve only as a reference point for the size of the discount.
Check the dealer ads for this week's special offers.
ALFA ROMEO
THE $29,500 Alfa 33 is well past its use-by date.
Patchy quality and uncompetitive pricing make it an emotional rather than rational purchase.
Re-sale is difficult.
DAIHATSU
RECESSION? What recession? This small car specialist has the right products at the right time.
The $10,490 Mira, like all Japanese ultra-lightweights, worries me.
It's one size too small in the event of any on-road biffo.
Spend the extra money on a $13,305 Charade or a $16,000 Applause.
Both are solid if unspectacular.
Good value and an honest measure of quality and refinement are Daihatsu's strengths.
FORD
THE $12,992 Festiva is a rebodied mid-1980s Mazda 121, built in Korea.
It ranked 20th in a 20-horse quality race recently conducted by Wheels magazine.
Buy this one only if price and A to B transport are the key considerations
The $16,933 Laser is a different story.
It ranks as one of the better Australian-made products.
Good rear seat room, lively performance, strong re-sale value but American-esque styling.
HOLDEN
THE five-door $13,724 Barina offers Made In Japan quality.
Manufactured by Suzuki, the four-cylinder Barina is above average in most respects for city commuter use.
Extended beyond that role, suspension and noise characteristics are flawed
The $17,850 Nova is a rebadged Toyota Corolla with minor differences.
At current discount prices ($17,850 is Holden's wish-list price) it is outstanding value.
Much more solid than the Barina with better performance, more room and higher quality appointments.
Neither chassis nor noise levels are up with latest standards but overall, the Nova is one of the market's undiscovered bargains.
The only downside-while it remains undiscovered, re-sale values will remain under the levels set by its twin-car, the Corolla.
HONDA
ONCE the undisputed small-car world champ, Honda's crown has slipped with the latest generation Civics.
Quality is up to Honda's usual standards but considering its hefty price premium, the Civic series has rough design and development edges that need polishing.
The $16,425 Breeze is slower than Nick Greiner's recall and noisier than Terry Metherell.
Its 1.3 litre engine really does struggle to make headway.
The $20,780 GL has a bigger 1.5 litre engine but performance is only adequate and noise levels remain too high.
The top range Civic Si at $23,630 is closer to the mark but comprehensively outperformed on the road and out-valued in the showroom by several other competitive models.
On the positive side, styling is best in class.
HYUNDAI
THE Excel is honest but techni cally outmoded motoring.
Solid if somewhat dour, this Korean export is no threat to Japanese quality standards, although it has improved a lot in recent times.
It mounts a strong value-for-money argument.
The $14,487 LS and $16,420 GLS are well-equipped and capable. The $12,554 Sprint belies its name. It's for money enthusiasts, not motoring enthusiasts.
MAZDA
TWO extremes characterise Maz da's small car fare.
The trendy $15,255 Mazda 121 is a stark contrast to the square and conservative $21,200 Mazda 323 sedan.
While the Noddy & Big Ears styling of the 121 has earned a big chunk of publicity, beneath the sizzle, the steak is above-average rather than excellent.
The 121 is built down to a price although the execution of trim and interior fitments is pleasant enough.
Body construction and paint are not up to Mazda's larger car standards.
The 323 is pretty well bullet-proof.
Tight, high quality construction, practical, economical and well executed in just about every area, it is smart, if unexciting buying.
The Astina fastback is Mazda's measure of youthful exuberance.
At $22,250 it outperforms the Civic with appreciably more refinement.
Mazda offers a three year/80,000km warranty.
MITSUBISHI
NOW here's a bargain, shoppers. The Lancer is in run-out phase with plenty of deals to be done.
This car began its life with the wrong engine.
Today's imported, fuel-injected models are canny buying.
Although not best-in-class at anything, the Lancer is consistently just adrift of the benchmarks for performance, handling and quality.
A considered longer-term purchase with list-prices of $16,970 for the GLX hatch up to $19,608 for the SE sedan. You'll do much better than that.
NIKI
DON'T bother.
NISSAN
THE Pulsar is the best small car buy of 1992.
Two high performing engines (1.6 and 2.0), a beautifully tuned suspension and very high quality levels deserve to make it market leader.
Competitive pricing and a three-year/100,000km warranty are Nissan's counterpoints to the grey-cloud that surrounds the closure of the local factory.
When it happens in October the Pulsar will switch to import status with no discernible styling or specification differences.
Continuity and re-sale values shouldn't be a problem.
Prices span $16,876 to around $20,000 for the volume selling GLi and Q models, although better dealer offers can be found in any of the newspaper classifieds.
PEUGEOT
THE 205Si at $20,500 is the only viable European alternative in a sea of Japanese and Korean cars.
Heaps of character, lively dynamics, perhaps the most fun of them all.
The downside ...
Drum brakes on the rear, less than Japanese levels of quality and refinement plus uncharted re-sale territory.
Early bugs with the GTi introduced to Australia a few years ago are claimed to be all fixed but who knows?.
Deserves a test drive and some thought.
SUBARU
THE Fiori is another of Japan's kei cars-tiny jiggers built to a tax formula and designed for Tokyo's back streets at 40 km/h.
The $9,995 price tag has a lot to do with its official status as a commercial vehicle (and thus exempt from too many passenger car safety standards for my liking.) Fun to drive but offers not a lot more protection than a four-wheeled motorbike.
SUZUKI
AS for Barina except ... Suzuki also offers a two-door triple- cylinder model Swift at $11,190.
The base model is reliable transport but really, spend another couple of thousand and a whole new world is available.
TOYOTA
THE Corolla is growing old none too gracefully.
The Pulsar outpoints it for performance, handling, warranty and many aspects of quality.
But not for reputation.
The Corolla epitomises Toyota's image which is long on value but short on mass-market modernity.
In Japan this model was replaced nearly two years ago.
Here it will soldier on, with the benefit of discounts and bonuses for quite a while yet.
Depending on the deal it can be a great if unspectacular buy with ready second-hand appeal.
MY TOP BUYS
* BEST overall regardless of price: Mazda 323/Astina.
* Best value all things considered: Nissan Pulsar.
* Best bargain that's still not bad to drive: Holden Nova/Toyota Corolla/Mitsubishi Lancer.
* Best herd mentality car to be bought without thinking too much: Ford Laser
* To be avoided at all costs: Niki.
* Cheap solid wheels: Hyundai Excel.
© 1992 The Sun Herald
