Kia Sportage Problems

First off, as you aren’t planning to go off-road I would suggest you buy a two-wheel drive model rather than a four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. That way you won’t be carrying around the extra weight of the all-wheel drive system and you won’t have the complexity of the all-wheel drive system, which means there’s less to go wrong. One I would look at is the front-wheel drive Kia Sportage.

As a guide you could expect to get $1500 to $3000 for your Laser. The RAV4 is a sound choice. You could get into a 5-star safety rated 2014 RAV4 for $20,000-$23,000, a similar 2012 model for $17,000-$20,000. You could also consider a Kia Sportage, Honda CR-V, or Subaru Forester.

I would suggest the Soul could be ruled out on the basis that it won't have a high resale value when you want to sell it on. Your budget will limit your choices, if you could stretch it another $3000 you could look at the Honda HR-V or CR-V, or Kia Sportage.

There are lots of reports of the Sportage pulling to the left, so you're not alone. Make sure the tyre pressures are correct and the same on each side then pick a normal section of road and drive it on the left side and observe what happens when you take your hands off the wheel. Then, when it's safe, drive on the right side of the road and again observe what happens when you take your hands off the wheel. If it still goes left there's a problem with the alignment, it goes right it's the effect of the camber of the road. Our roads have a significant camber that falls away from the crown on the centerline to the edge of the road on the left, and this can cause the sort of effect you are feeling. There is often insufficient adjustment in the car's suspension to correct for this wandering. You could take the car to a suspension specialist and have it checked there.

Your need for low maintenance rules out the Europeans, Jeeps are popular but aren't as reliable as I think they should be, leaving you with the Japanese and Korean brands. The cars I would suggest you look at are the Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, Subaru Forester and Honda CR-V.

Both are well suited to everyday use around town. They're comfortable, fuel-efficient and safe. The Dualis is a little cheaper than the Sportage, but I would definitely go for the Sportage. I would expect them to have a similar resale value when it comes time to sell, but the reputation of the Sportage for quality and reliability would make it easier to move on.

There is nothing official from Mazda Australia but the CX-5 is now more than four years old and that points to a new replacement in the second half of next year. If you're buying now, ensure you also test drive the new Kia Sportage — I give it The Tick and rate it ahead of the CX-5.

It's not just the dealer and it's not just Kia. Most companies keep only fast-moving parts in stock and have to order anything else, which means sea freight delays.