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 mega HiLux
By Andrew Chesterton · 24 Sep 2021
Toyota has finally put the LC300's engine in a GR-branded HiLux, but that doesn't necessarily put you any closer to climbing behind the wheel of it.
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2023 Toyota HiLux to be a tray-backed LC300?
By Andrew Chesterton · 22 Sep 2021
Toyota's commercial vehicle range could share a platform derived from the LandCruiser 300 Series, with the HiLux, Tacoma and Tundra and LC300 to share a TNGA platform for future iterations, according to international reports.
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Great Wall Cannon Everest firms for Oz
By Andrew Chesterton · 21 Sep 2021
The toughest Chinese ute to date is firming for Australia, with the Great Wall Cannon Everest firmly in the brand's sights for our market.While the model is yet to be officially confirmed for Australia, GWM has told CarsGuide it's keeping an eye on the Fo
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Ford and Holden 2.0
By Andrew Chesterton · 19 Sep 2021
When Ford and Holden finally shut-up shop in Australia a few years back, it seemed like the curtain had permanently closed on the golden age of Aussie automotive manufacturing, given the formerly homegrown heroes were the last two marques still building c
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Chinese Ford Ranger Raptor rival fires up
By Andrew Chesterton · 16 Sep 2021
Great Wall has peeled back the covers on its toughest ute yet, with the new Everest fitted-out with off-road kit to take the fight to vehicles like the Ford Ranger Raptor and Nissan Navara Warrior.Revealed at the Chengdu International Auto Show, the Evere
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Kia Niro Hybrid 2022 review: PHEV Sport
By Andrew Chesterton · 16 Sep 2021
Small in stature, and on fuel use, the Kia Niro Hybrid PHEV Sport is billed as the eco-friendly answer in the small SUV space. So does it live up to the hype? We put it to the test to find out.
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Would you pay $250,000 for a Ford Ranger?
By Andrew Chesterton · 15 Sep 2021
The world's most expensive Ford Ranger has been revealed, kind of, with the H2X Warrego ute set for sale in November this year.But this is no standard Ford Ranger.
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Hyundai's 2022 Santa Cruz gamble pays off
By Andrew Chesterton · 15 Sep 2021
Hyundai's gamble on the 2022 Santa Cruz has paid off in the USA, with the micro-ute beating out the new Corvette to the crown of America's fastest-selling vehicle in August.Hyundai's bite-sized pick-up shifted some 1252 examples in the USA in just its fir
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2022 Ford Everest toughens up!
By Andrew Chesterton · 14 Sep 2021
The 2022 Ford Everest has been spied testing in Australia, with the Ranger based SUV sporting a new and tough-looking (and, sadly, camouflaged front-end when snapped in Suburban Melbourne.The clock is now counting down on the grand unveiling of the Ford E
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2022 Toyota 86 a bargain in Oz?
By Andrew Chesterton · 13 Sep 2021
The incoming 2022 Toyota 86 is shaping as one of Australia's true performance-car bargains, with the Japanese giant's rear-wheel sports car offered in a bargain-basement trim level that won't appear with its Subaru BRZ twin.While Toyota in Japan has confi
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