Opinions aren’t hard to come by in the CarExpert offices.
All members of our passionate editorial team live and breathe cars, from cheap city runabouts to multi-million dollar exotics, and the industry that surrounds them all.
Over the course of 2024 we’ve had the chance to offer up our thoughts on a wide range of automotive topics, many of which resonated with our loyal readers.
Here are the five opinion pieces that drew the most attention.
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New anti-speeding system coming to Australia is dangerous
CarExpert founder Alborz Fallah took issue with new Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) laws in this hard-hitting industry piece.
“To put it simply, the system is dangerous,” said Alborz.
“Although the ISA system is not yet mandated in Australia, some manufacturers have been complying with the new regulation for some time – and a few of them are already sending vehicles to Australia with the system enabled.
“We have now spent over a month with a vehicle that has this system enabled, which has given us a real taste of how poorly this government mandate has been thought out, and how badly it affects driver workload and distraction.”
MORE: New anti-speeding system coming to Australia is dangerous
The hybrid SUVs under $50k the CarExpert team would buy
While everyone is talking about the benefits and drawbacks of electric cars, hybrids have quietly been creeping up the sales charts.
2023 was a record year for hybrid vehicles in Australia, with 98,439 sold – up 20 per cent on the year before.
Indeed, Toyota has put the majority of its eggs in the hybrid basket, and there’s a wide range of budget hybrids available from other brands, including GWM, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan and Subaru.
Given SUVs are the dominant vehicle type in Australia, the CarExpert editorial team took a look at the hybrid SUVs available for $50,000 to see what we would buy.
MORE: The hybrid SUVs under $50k the CarExpert team would buy
The latest data shows speed cameras don’t save lives
CarExpert founder Alborz Fallah questioned the effectiveness of speed cameras in reducing Australia’s road toll in this June piece.
“State-by-state, the revenue generated by traffic cameras continues to climb to new heights while the data suggests it has no real effect on reducing road trauma,” said Alborz.
“The question remains: what are the taxpayers funding?”
MORE: The latest data shows speed cameras don’t save lives
What should you buy instead of a Toyota RAV4?
The Toyota RAV4 is Australia’s most popular SUV and one of the best-selling cars in the country, but in such a competitive segment there’s no shortage of options, with some becoming genuine challengers to Toyota’s popular SUV.
For buyers looking to get behind the wheel of a mid-sized SUV or something a bit different to the dime-a-dozen RAV4, we passed judgement on the best alternatives.
The CarExpert editorial team came up with no less than seven worthy options, from sporty SUVs to a top-selling electric vehicle (EV).
MORE: What should you buy instead of a Toyota RAV4?
What 4×4 ute should you buy in 2024?
Australia loves a ute, right back from when Holden and Ford were showroom rivals to now, when Thailand, South Korea and China are feeding our insatiable appetite for single- and dual-cabs.
Indeed, pickup and ute sales are set to top 250,000 this year, representing around 20 per cent of new vehicle sales in Australia.
With that in mind, members of the CarExpert editorial team weighed in on the best utes currently offered Down Under.
We gave ourselves free reign in the new vehicle market, and the ability to choose whether we want to cosplay tradies or an adventurous family if we were in the market for a new ute.
