Articles by Andrew Chesterton

Andrew Chesterton
Contributing Journalist

CarsGuide contributing journalist Andrew Chesterton is an award-winning Australian automotive reporter with more than 20 years of experience across newspapers, magazines, digital publishing and automotive corporate communications.

Andrew began his journalism career at Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, reporting across business, courts, crime, property and state politics before moving into automotive journalism.

He joined Top Gear Australia as its online editor in 2008, later being appointed editor of Top Gear New Zealand. He subsequently worked as an assistant editor during the Australian launch of the Daily Mail Australia, and as communications manager at FCA Australia, now Stellantis.

His experience on both sides of the media industry gives him an unrivalled understanding of the automotive industry, and the relationship between car manufacturers, the media, and Australian consumers.

Andrew’s work has appeared across leading automotive, news, business, luxury, travel and lifestyle publications, including CarsGuide, EV Central, DMARGE, The Sydney Morning Herald, Marie Claire, Top Gear, GQ Australia, The Australian, WISH Magazine, Boss Hunting, The West Australian, The Nightly, Women’s Day Australia, Carsales, NRMA, Men’s Health, CEO Magazine, Australian Financial Review and more.  

Andrew specialises in industry news, vehicle reviews, policy,  performance and luxury cars, electric vehicles, automotive technology, EVs hybrid and plug-in hybrids, and the broader Australian new-car marketplace.

In 2025, Andrew was named Newspress Australia News Journalist of the Year and was a finalist for the overall Journalist of the Year award.

Earlier honours include Website of the Year wins at the Australian Magazine Awards and ACP Awards, the ACP Rising Star Award and recognition in the Bauer Media and News Ltd journalism awards.

Expertise

  • Electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles
  • Performance, luxury and supercars
  • New-car reviews and road testing
  • Australian automotive industry and new-car sales
  • Chinese automotive brands and emerging manufacturers
  • Utes, SUVs and family vehicles
  • Automotive technology
  • Policy

Awards

  • 2025 Newspress Australia News Journalist of the Year

Featured Publications

Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics, and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

Meet the 2022 GWM King Kong Cannon
By Andrew Chesterton · 11 Nov 2021
Just when you thought the Haval Big Dog was about the most out-there Chinese vehicle name we were likely to encounter this year, in swoops GWM with its new King Kong Cannon which has just been revealed in its home market.
Read the article
What about an Australian-made Tesla Model 3?
By Andrew Chesterton · 10 Nov 2021
An Australian-made Tesla could be on the cards as homegrown billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes confirms he's lobbying Elon Musk to bring vehicle and battery manufacturing down under.Speaking on the Energy Insiders podcast, the Atlassian founder and minted mu
Read the article
Mitsubishi Outlander Evolution rendered
By Andrew Chesterton · 09 Nov 2021
Mitsubishi is reviving the Ralliart performance badge, and rumours in Japan point to a go-fast version of the Outlander SUV as the first to wear in a new and more hardcore Evolution guise.But rather than wait for Mitsubishi to show us, Russian outlet Kole
Read the article
What the hell happened to Toyota?
By Andrew Chesterton · 07 Nov 2021
Flash back to 2017 and auto outlets around the world were buzzing, thanks to a massively surprising promise - and an even more surprising admission - from the president of the world's biggest car company.It was a promise that would lead to a genuine perfo
Read the article
Toyota LandCruiser Prado going hybrid?
By Andrew Chesterton · 05 Nov 2021
The new Toyota LandCruiser Prado will introduce a new petrol-hybrid powertrain, according to new reports out of Japan, with the brand's mini-LC300 to follow the brand's well-word electrification pathway.The reports, which surfaced in Japanese scoop site S
Read the article
Audi Q5 Sportback and SQ5 Sportback 2022 review
By Andrew Chesterton · 05 Nov 2021
Usually you can have space OR sportiness, practicality OR performance. But Audi reckons its new Q5 Sportback ups the style and performance from the regular Q5, without sacrificing space or practicality. So what's the catch? We put the Q5 45 TSI Sportback and SQ5 Sportback to the test to find out.
Read the article
Toyota GR Corolla Rallye outputs leaked!
By Andrew Chesterton · 03 Nov 2021
The outputs for Toyota's fire-breathing GR Corolla hot hatch have reportedly been leaked in the USA, with reports the brand's newest performance vehicle will out-punch the GR Yaris despite sharing its engine.According to multiple international outlets, a
Read the article
A real Australian-made ute?
By Andrew Chesterton · 01 Nov 2021
H2X appears to have settled on Victoria as the state to kick-start its Australian automotive manufacturing ambitions, with the company entering an agreement with the Gippsland Circular Economy Precinct (GCEP), about four hours from Melbourne in the state'
Read the article
Toyota Celica comeback!
By Andrew Chesterton · 31 Oct 2021
Toyota is on the record as keen to complete its performance trilogy - or what it calls its "three brother" strategy - with a new performance hero to join the GR 86 and GR Supra in a three-prong attack on everything from the Subaru WRX STi to the new Nissa
Read the article
The new Ford Ranger will be sticking around
By Andrew Chesterton · 26 Oct 2021
We could be waiting as long as 10 years for an all-new Ford Ranger, with new reports out of the USA suggesting the about-to-be-updated Toyota HiLux fighter will be sticking around until beyond the end of the decade.The reports, which have surfaced in US
Read the article