Warranty

Mitsubishi has hinted for the second time in two months that it will move to a permanent seven-year warranty across the range, rather than as a special offer on the Triton ute. The seven-year/150,000km warranty — up from the standard five years/unlimited kilometres — was introduced with the facelifted Triton in December 2018.

Volkswagen is promising the lithium-ion batteries in its upcoming range of ID. electric vehicles will retain 70 per cent of their capacity for eight years or 160,000km. That puts the German giant in line with the likes of Tesla and Nissan, both of which warranty their battery packs for eight years and 162,000km.

Isuzu Ute Australia has boosted warranty, roadside assistance and capped priced servicing coverage on all new vehicles sold after 1 May 2019. The extra customer care packages coincide with the arrival of the updated model year 2019 D-Max ute and MU-X SUV, which have had a subtle visual makeover and equipment changes.

Renault has extended its light-commercial vehicle warranty to unlimited kilometres, instead of the existing 200,000km cap. The new warranty term applies to all new vehicles sold after November 1, 2018. Although the kilometre cap has been lifted, the three-year term remains. It applies to the compact Kangoo, the mid-size Trafic, and the large Master. The wider range maintains its five-year term, while Renault Sport vehicles are still covered by a three-year policy.

Subaru is set to stick with a three-year warranty for the short term, despite a number of its competitors making the move to longer coverage periods. Speaking with CarAdvice at the launch of the all-new Forester, Subaru Australia managing director, Colin Christie, said he's aware of the competition, but the company is still investigating its options.