Faults:

2nd row left hand passengers side seat sliding mechanism stopped working. Fixed at service.

Front tyres have been replaced.

General Comments:

We have owned this car for over a year, and it has proved to be very reliable and comfortable, as well as maintaining its good looks. This car has done several country trips, and has carried at times seven people very well.

The performance of the car is terrific, provided you switch the gearbox to manual mode, something very easily done by moving the gearshift to the right.

This also showed up a rather unexpected issue, which is the shift from first to second will have the engine struggling to climb into the torque band (maximum torque developed at 4000 rpm), so the secret is to hold first just shy of the change up point, and then when near the top of the steep hill use the manual mode and shift up to second. Worked well in the Snowy mountains country as it does not let the engine labour, which in turns hurts fuel economy. Mind you, I only use the full automatic mode for slow work; the manual shift is so much easier to use and great if you prefer driving a manual, something that is hard to come by in this segment.

The brakes are excellent, and the ABS and EBD work extremely well. I have used them under true emergency conditions, and the vehicle pulled up straight without drama.

The interior is still great even after one year of ownership.

Finally the headlight issue will be sorted out thanks to the fitting of aftermarket headlights. The high beams are poor, and I will be fitting new globes.

Other than that this car is wonderful, it does what is asked of it and everyone is still very comfortable.

I would like to see an extra gear fitted; the four speed sometimes leaves you wanting an extra gear, but I would have no hesitation in recommending this vehicle.

Faults:

None.

General Comments:

This is a very comfortable car particularly over long distances.

The interior is very easy to live with especially if you have children.

The instruments are very simple and all information is displayed in a logical and easily read format.

The performance is very good and the transmission shifts up easily, however, use the tiptronic style shifter for fast changes.

Fuel economy is good but the engine is still tight for really good economy.

The suspension soaks up bumps really well and the handling is great for this type of vehicle. The steering suffers from some vagueness either side of centre but as speeds increase this does lessen. The brakes are excellent.

The headlights are poor so if you can replace them with H1 equivalent or better at A$28.

The stereo in the LS model is also a letdown. The speakers themselves are good but the head unit is a single CD/MP3 AM FM unit which should sound good for a standard system but does not. So if you can replace it with something to your liking.

However, these are the only two faults that I can find. The car itself is a great drive and a great family car.