A damaging fire thought to have been sparked by Australia’s second-most popular car is now being treated as arson, it can be revealed.

Two vehicles were gutted and the front of a home was damaged in the blaze that erupted on Alt St in Smithfield, in Sydney ’s southwest, just before 3am on September 5, forcing a family to flee to their backyard.

“I feel sad. It’s very hard, it’s emotional,” homeowner Saul Soto said.

“Devastating inside my heart, you know.”

Investigators believed the fire had sparked under the hood of a hybrid RAV4 SUV and it was not initially treated as suspicious, but that view has now changed.

“Police continued to investigate the incident before new information came to light,” NSW Police told 7NEWS.com.au on Thursday.

“Police now suspect the fire was deliberat

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