Articles by Byron Mathioudakis

Byron Mathioudakis
Contributing Journalist

Byron started his motoring journalism career when he joined John Mellor in 1997 before becoming a freelance motoring writer two years later.

He wrote for several motoring publications and was ABC Youth radio Triple J's "all things automotive" correspondent from 2001 to 2003.

He rejoined John Mellor in early 2003 and has been with GoAutoMedia as a senior product and industry journalist ever since.

With an eye for detail and a vast knowledge base of both new and used cars Byron lives and breathes motoring.

His encyclopedic knowledge of cars was acquired from childhood by reading just about every issue of every car magazine ever to hit a newsstand in Australia.

The child Byron was the consummate car spotter, devoured and collected anything written about cars that he could lay his hands on and by nine had driven more imaginary miles at the wheel of the family Ford Falcon in the driveway at home than many people drive in a lifetime.

The teenage Byron filled in the agonising years leading up to getting his driver's license by reading the words of the leading motoring editors of the country and learning what they look for in a car and how to write it.

In short, Byron loves cars and knows pretty much all there is to know about every vehicle released during his lifetime as well as most of the ones that were around before then.

2026 Kia EV4 will be primed to target Tesla Model 3
By Byron Mathioudakis · 20 Aug 2025
Kia has confirmed that both the EV4 Sedan and Hatch will be launched in Australia next year – and that’s great news for buyers of the newly-released and very diesel-powered Tasman ute. Already offering one of the broadest ranges of SUV electric vehicles (EV) in Australia, including the EV3, EV5, EV6 and EV9, the company is keen for these plus the EV4 and the coming EV2 and eventually EV1 to offset the emissions (and potential subsequent penalties) of its diesel-powered models.
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Why the 2020s belongs to Korea and not China or Japan
By Byron Mathioudakis · 19 Aug 2025
Sorry, Swifties. While we appreciate the cultural phenomenon that is singer/songwriter, artist and philanthropist Taylor Swift, this is not a paean to a great pop star, but, rather, a reference to the year that marked Japan’s stellar ascension as the biggest threat to the established carmakers of that time. Their fear was existential as well as actual.
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Kia to democratise EVs with EV2 SUV baby and EV1 mini
By Byron Mathioudakis · 16 Aug 2025
Kia is frantically working on a pair of small electric vehicles (EVs) that could reshape the bottom end of the new-car market by bringing near-price parity with internal combustion engine alternatives. The big news is that both the EV2 small crossover expected to debut sometime next year and its EV1 city-car sibling due a little later on are under serious consideration for Australia. This is despite being readied for production out of Slovakia, due to EV tax concessions as well as vast economies of scale that should help contain prices if or when they land here.
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Kia Tasman X-Pro 2026 review: snapshot
By Byron Mathioudakis · 12 Aug 2025
The Kia Tasman X-Pro 4x4 from $74,990, before on-road costs, is the off-road biased range-topper in the new ute series, chasing buyers who may otherwise go for a Ford Ranger Wildtrak or Isuzu D-Max Blade.
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Why the 2026 Kia Tasman hybrid is the top priority
By Byron Mathioudakis · 12 Aug 2025
Where does the Kia Tasman go from here? Is having a conventional diesel engine as the sole choice enough to run with the best-sellers? Should the Tasman follow the lead of the Ranger Raptor by going down the off-road performance path, to create a halo model for the rest of the range to bask beneath? Or is going hybrid the answer? The answer may shock you!
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Kia sticks with its pioneering seven-year warranty
By Byron Mathioudakis · 11 Aug 2025
Kia will stick with its present warranty in Australia for the foreseeable future. With three manufacturers – Mitsubishi, MG and most recently Nissan – introducing conditional, dealer-service-activated 10-year options on top of their existing standard five-year timeframes, the modern-era long-warranty standard setter reckons stretching from its long-running seven-year/unlimited-kilometre item isn’t actually what buyers want or need.
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Kia Tasman X-Line 2026 review: snapshot
By Byron Mathioudakis · 10 Aug 2025
The Kia Tasman X-Line is the luxury-focused flagship in the South Korean brand’s first one-tonne ute range, and in some ways represents the sweet spot.
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Nissan set to return to two-pronged Navara strategy
By Byron Mathioudakis · 09 Aug 2025
From one of the oldest utes in Australia to two of the newest – and most technically-intriguing. This is what is shaping up for Nissan locally moving forward, as it shifts up two gears to regain the much-stronger standing it enjoyed for decades against the best-selling Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max. That's right, two utes to take on the tough one-tonne class.
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Kia Tasman SX+ 2026 review: snapshot
By Byron Mathioudakis · 08 Aug 2025
The Kia Tasman SX+ is the mid-grade version, and should appeal to buyers who want lots of features without paying too steep a price.
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Can the Nissan Y62 Patrol overlap with the Y63 Patrol?
By Byron Mathioudakis · 07 Aug 2025
Will the long-lived Nissan Y62 Patrol V8 continue on sale after the all-new Y63 Patrol V6 launches? Due in Australia by early 2027, there has been some speculation that the next-gen model’s jump in technology, sophistication, complexity and – in all likelihood – price might see the current version continue as an entry-level ST-L grade underneath.
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