Why performance cars are officially a 'no towing' zone (Part 2)

Here’s why affordable performance cars, which have never been faster or gone harder, have lost the ability to tow anything. The facts are in…

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A dude named Chris contacted me for help finding a performance car capable of light towing, which is discussed in my previous report: Performance cars are becoming a 'no tow' zone.

Obviously, I approve of the Hyundai i30 N which he is keen on buying, but it is not approved to tow in Australia, despite someone having done the towing compliance engineering within Hyundai globally.

We know this vehicle is capable of being offered with a towbar in Europe because we have the internet now.

Hyundai Germany’s i30 configurator will let you option a towbar for i30 N-Line, which is not ‘i30 N’ , the performance version, but it’s the same underlying platform.

It's not available here, unfortunately.

So, in my previous report, I suggested to Chris that maybe he should go talk to a couple of authorised signatory engineers and see if it's not easier for one of them to do a one-off compliance request for things like that. It might’ve been easier than a car maker and all the repertoire that they might have to go through to comply something such as that.

Chris did the legwork on this and told me:

I made some enquiries with a couple of VASS engineers as suggested by yourself and with Hayman Reese as suggested by one of the viewers in the comments section. I thought I would provide an update on the outcome of those enquiries…

Engineering option: Both engineers advised that this option is not possible, regretfully. One engineer advised that effectively I would need to do the work Hyundai refused to do which would include engineering analysis and even crash testing to validate that the vehicle is safe with a towing apparatus attached. I would need to provide conclusive proof to VicRoads to substantiate that it complies with the ADR. Even though an OEM towbar is available (in other markets), effectively the ADR does not allow for a work around when a GCM is not specified (that includes a trailer weight).

Hayman Reese option: Hayman Reese advised that while they would like to offer a towbar option for such vehicles, producing a hitch attachment is not an issue for them, but they cannot provide the necessary compliance to make it legal.

The gentleman from HR also suggested that the ADR seems to assess towbars differently to other jurisdictions and therefore manufacturers are forced to go through a compliance process to comply… 

For myself, effectively a one-off work around is not possible. Game over on this front.

Interesting, because I had a conversation with a person within the federal government who basically told me that the regulations - the ADRs - are essentially harmonized FMVSS or UNECE regulations which would be federal motor vehicle safety standards in the United States or UN compliance regulations in the EU.

This was done to effectively reduce the cost of compliance in Australia because we used to have these quirky, insignificantly different - but different - ADRs, and it was really expensive to homologate a car for sale in Australia. My understanding, since then, based on that interview, has been that the burden of regulatory compliance in Australia has been reduced or eliminated.

But in this case it seems just reduced.

You can go to the German website and buy a towbar for an i30 N, so someone somewhere in Hyundai has done some compliance research and design, and produced a tow bar that complies presumably with the UN ECE regulations for towing and if there are bespoke regulations here in Australia, I'd suggest that's pretty stupid.

I posed this question about compliance and what the reason is in Australia, and I got an answer to some of the issues that I raised.

And, I don't think they're bullshitting me, either. Not to my knowledge.

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ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS TO PERFORMANCE TOWING

The dude from Hyundai Australia PR has said to me:

Please see response below from our engineering/technical dept (you’re bang on about the compliance amortisation costs):

-Due to the exhaust and underbody layout, the towbar design will be unique for i30 N

-Whilst i30 N is very popular, and in high demand, it is still relative to the whole i30 range a niche model – hence we cannot justify the business case to develop a tow bar for what would amount to a handful of customers

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Back here Hyundai says 'no tow'.

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Despite being an i30 underneath.

My working hypothesis was that the cost of compliance for a towbar is known in Australia and they project the number of people who are buy one on the showroom floor. When you divide the cost of compliance by the number of interested customers, you get a cost per customer for producing a towbar for that car, and they've just concluded that it is too much.

Unfortunately, if you are in the market and you need a performance car that will tow occasionally, in that case, i30 N is just not an option for you.

This is not an example in isolation either it's not, just i30 N, it's a whole range of other performance cars. So I'd suggest the same calculus has been done by many other carmakers in Australia and this adds weight to the hypothesis that there is bespoke compliance for towbars in Australia.

Chris got back to me:

I thought I would also provide some clarification on some points that you raised in your piece: 

My issue is not with Hyundai specifically. It seems to have become common practise with most manufacturers. My disappointment is greatest with Hyundai because i30 N appeals to me most as a replacement for my ageing WRX. 

I completely agree with you regarding the outsourcing of deliveries and tipping needs, they are not a deal breaker for me.

My advice to Chris there was hire a Bunnings ute or something from Budget, or if you have a bunch of furniture to move, outsource it to some ‘Man With A Van’ or ‘Hire A Hubby’ type service.

However, jetskiing is a passion and would be. Whilst hiring a ute is somewhat of a solution, it would require planning and availability. I go jetskiing a dozen times a year. The decision to go is often spontaneous based on down time from a busy schedule.

With COVID having impacted the car rental industry, cars are not always available and I would also need to leave my “new vehicle” parked wherever I hire from.

These are all obstacles that will make it hard to enjoy a favourite hobby.

If i30 N is the Goldilocks car for Chris, then perhaps he could buy it and simply hang on to the aging WRX as a tow vehicle. Now, I know what his 2011 WRX is and I liked that one, too. They were manual only, they were real hardcore performance cars which I really enjoyed driving back in the day. I know it's probably worth 10 grand which he would otherwise put towards the acquisition of the i30 N, but if he can afford it just hang on to the old WRX as a tow vehicle, problem’s solved.

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Holding on the REX isn't all-bad.

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Or an old tow pig might do the job.

Another option is buy a dedicated cheap towing vehicle, like a 2000s Toyota Camry base model with fairly high kilometres, which you can probably find for private sale for a few grand. Get one with 10 to 12 months registration, then just pay for third-party fire and theft insurance, make sure it's got a tow bar and just use it for towing for the next 12 months. See how that goes. You can park it in the backyard or on the street, pay the registration in increments, only put half a tank of fuel in it each time (or whatever, get it serviced on the cheap with a local mechanic. Easy.

You're only going to drive it 12 times a year so the cost of maintenance is zero and then when the rego expires or you’ve had enough of it, just see how much a wrecker will give you for it and go again, or give it away to charity like Kids Under Cover.

This way, you'll get the car of your dreams and it'll cost you about two grand for about 12 months, which is about 40 bucks a week to take the jetski out and inflict it on the people who would like tranquility at the waterfront where they live. You can be happy, they can be sad, and the cost is kind of minimal and your beloved i30 N will be in the driveway and not subject to the being left alone outside some grubby car rental operation begging to be driven into, shat on by birds, scuffed by cyclists and covered in paint chips by concrete trucks in the seedy end of town.

That's what I’d do, but there doesn't appear to be a work-around in this case for putting a towbar on a performance car like i30 N, and I'm gutted that I couldn't figure out something better for you, Chris. But life is like that. The thing about facts is, you don't have to like them.

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