Safety

Nissan has issued a recall for more than 13,000 Qashqai compact SUVs.

Which car would you recommend for a young male driver? Safety, appearance, price and maintenance are all considerations.

Safety chimes are slowly but surely becoming the norm, but few carmakers are looking to address them head on.Farizon is an electric commercial vehicle sub-brand from Chinese giant Geely, which also owns brands like Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, among others.It arrived in Australia earlier this year with the H9E electric light truck, as well as the SuperVan electric commercial van.As we noted in our review of the latter, there are a large number of chimes and sounds that play for a variety of different safety systems. These include the driver attention monitor and speed limit assist, among others.There’s even a chime for selecting drive and for changing what content is displayed in the digital instrument cluster.While we did note there are a lot of chimes, it was the noise and intensity that grated the most.However, Farizon is well aware of this and is set to roll out a software update “in the coming months” that addresses this concern.A spokesperson for Farizon’s local distributor, Jameel Motors, told CarsGuide the company is set to reduce the sound of all the safety chimes “by around 20db”.Additionally the company is working on some tweaks to the lane centring function and the reversing camera. It’s unclear whether this will be included as part of this latest software update.This software update isn’t available over-the-air as the SuperVan doesn’t have connected services. However, it will be applied to new vehicles as part of the pre-delivery inspection or existing examples at the next service.At this stage Farizon is still building up its presence in Australia. It currently only sells vehicles in Queensland via its website.The company is working on setting up a dealer network within the coming months, with a Jameel Motors spokesperson claiming the eastern seaboard will be prioritised.There are currently three variants in the local Farizon SuperVan line-up – the SWB Low Roof, LWB Low Roof and LWB High Roof.All variants are powered by a front-mounted electric motor capable of producing 170kW and 336Nm of torque. This is fed by an 83kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery sourced from CATL.Claimed range depends on the body configuration, but it’s up to 376km in the SWB Low Roof according to WLTP testing.Cargo volume depends on the variant, but the SWB Low Roof has 6.95 cubic meters, the LWB Loof Roof has 8.25 cubic meters, and the LWB High Roof has 11.22 cubic meters.Payload also depends on the configuration from 1170kg in the LWB High Roof to 1300kg in the SWB Low Roof.Braked towing capacity across the range is 2000kg and unbraked towing capacity is 750kg.

Two European SUVs and a new Chinese ute have learned their safety fate from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

The Federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication, Sport and the Arts has issued a safety recall notice impacting 15,352 BMWs across multiple models sold new in Australia from 2016 to 2020.It confirms that in examples of the 320d, 320i, 330i, 420i, 430i, 520d, 520i, 530i, 620d, 630i, X3, X4 and Z4, “Due to a manufacturing defect, inadequate sealing of the starter motor may allow moisture to enter into the unit. If this occurs, corrosion may result in the engine not starting.”The department said, “In rare cases, it could also cause a short circuit leading to overheating of the starter motor and in the worst case, to a vehicle fire while parked or driving.“A vehicle fire could increase the risk of injury or death to vehicle occupants, other road users, bystanders and/or damage to property,” it said.Owners of affected vehicles will be contacted by BMW requesting they schedule an appointment immediately with their preferred authorised BMW dealer to replace the starter motor free of charge.Alternatively, BMW Australia can be contacted on a dedicated Recall Hotline (1800 243 675), via email (info@bmw.com.au) or through a recall-specific website (https://www.recall.bmw.com.au).

MG looks into safety issues with its popular MG3 hatchback, as updates still fall short of maximum five-star rating.

Deepal's over-the-air update to the S07's safety systems, which allows certain functions to be permanently disabled rather than require them to be turned off every time the vehicle is started, risks falling foul of ANCAP, with the safety body demanding answers ahead of a potential revaluation of the model's safety rating.

A best-selling SUV and van have retained their five-star Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety rating.

How common is the issue in the 2019 Holden Commodore ZB where the gear selector is in Park but a warning notice comes up “shift to park”? Until the light goes out, I can’t lock car or turn off the lights etc.

The airbag warning light stays on in my 2010 Hyundai i30