Should you renew your car's COE - Part 3 - Are newer cars really that good?

Singapore has always discouraged car owners from keeping old cars through a variety of disincentives such as progressively higher taxes for older cars, more frequent car testing regime as well as the forfeiture a rebate should you decide to keep your car for more than 10 years.

From the last decade, we indeed saw an improvement in car technologies and advancements such as improved safety, increasingly stringent emissions, improved efficiency and nifty add-ons that made the car more convenient, useful and desirable.

In terms of efficiency, a Golf 1.4l Blue Motion takes gets about 18km/l while a Lancer GLX 1.6l barely maintains 14.2km/l when driven in a light footed manner. They are a great comparison considering that both cars produce 105hp.

While the power difference is not appreciable, the newer DSG gearbox in the Golf is extremely responsive and the turbocharger produces a punch even during lower rpms, making its high power accessible in everyday driving conditions. The improvements do not end there. With more and more sensors and electronics on board, your car's computer can even tell if your tires are losing pressure, if any of your light bulbs are blown and how to distribute the braking and engine power in tricky driving conditions. These improvements make is safer to drive and preempts you of any issues that require your attention before it the car fails on you.

However, there is a downside to having too many sophisticated electronics. They malfunction over time due to wear and tear on electrical components. In terms of reliability, a newer car may not outperform a car from the 2000s where much its improvement were due to physical and mechanical advances. For example, the automatic transmission in 2000s cars were so reliable that automatic cars outsold manual cars while only costing a little more.

The question is, are newer cars worth the premium of paying so much more than just renewing your trusty steed? Sadly, a lot of these sophistication and still not found in entry level Japanese cars to keep prices low. The higher efficiency of European super/turbocharged engines are way better than the simple naturally aspirated Japanese engines of today. Due to the vehicular tax structure in Singapore, it discourages manufacturers from improving their cars too much, thereby raising the import value which is highly taxed. After all, Japanese cars are still aimed at the common man.

Unless you are aiming for European cars for your next purchase, you aren't getting much of an improvement from what you are getting out from your near 10 year old Japanese car.