Articles by Byron Mathioudakis

Byron Mathioudakis

Contributing Journalist

Byron Mathioudakis connected with cars right from the start.

His earliest memory is a dream of him driving an Austin A30. Soon after, Byron fell in love with movies watching Duel (1971) where a Valiant sedan takes on a murderous Peterbilt truck. Meanwhile, at Tottenham Primary, teacher Mr Chitty prised opened his world with Wheels magazines, later leading him to perform a one-person musical about the then-new Ford XD Falcon. Everyone thought he was strange.

Eager to keep his car passion separate from work, he graduated from Advertising at RMIT, but wasn’t happy in that industry, so did the ‘90s Gen X thing of back-packing, with stints in hospitality, exploring his love of music working in a record store, tending bar, acting, dancing, modelling and even being a singing telegram, thankfully in faraway Canada.

His eventual YouTube debut happened as an extra in a Violetine video of that era, You Know.

Anyway, by 28, Byron realised he wanted to write about cars and nothing else, and on the eve of his 30th, landed a job at John Mellor’s Australian Automotive Business, a predecessor to GoAuto, where he still feels he belongs after four decades, breaking through with an unsolicited road test of his mother’s Peugeot 306.

Going freelance in 1999, he worked at the long-defunct eauto.com.au (it’s still on Wayback Machine), then picked up a gig at Wheels magazine, citing 11 years of Car of the Year judging as a life-changing employment experience. Among scores of amazing people, it was there he became great friends with Peter Robinson, the editor of that first car magazine he devoured back in ’77. Do meet your heroes.

In 2020, Byron started at CarsGuide, where he is a Contributing Journalist to this day. Other regular media outlets he writes for include the RAC WA and Australian Plumbing Industry Magazine.

Note: though Byron has many old cars he loves, he has never owned an Austin A30, Valiant, XD Falcon or Peugeot 306. To paraphrase Bjork, to do so may break the charm.

You can find Byron on LinkedIn.

Education

Associate Diploma in Advertising, RMIT | 1987-1990

Awards

2024 Newspress Australia Road Tester of the Year

Featured Publications

GoAuto | 1997-2022
Wheels | 2009-2021
CarsGuide | 2020-present
RAC WA
Australian Plumbing Industry Magazine

Jaguar I-Pace 2023 review

By Byron Mathioudakis · 23 Jul 2023

Jaguar was first on the luxury EV SUV scene back in 2018, but recent improvements have kept it fresh against newer rivals. The twin electric-motor EV400 AWD is the sole model, and remains a thrillingly quick, dynamically athletic and - with optional air suspension and adaptive dampers - a wonderfully comfortable grand tourer, complete with a roomy, high-quality cabin. There's much to enjoy here.

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Why are some carmakers slow with EV uptake?

By Byron Mathioudakis · 23 Jul 2023

It seems that, whether you’re a new car buyer or a carmaker, this decade’s must-have accessory is an electric vehicle (EV). Brands like BYD, MG, Kia, Hyundai and – of course – Tesla are setting the pace in 2023… which begs the question: where are the other mainstream players and why are they lagging so far behind?

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Aussie flops that keep worthy successors away

By Byron Mathioudakis · 23 Jul 2023

All were meant to be sure-fire hits. A roll-of-the-dice gamble, some involving extensive and hugely expensive re-engineering for our right-hand-drive (RHD) requirements, in return for the promise of strong sales and a healthy return on investment. Especially when most were fundamentally good cars.

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GWM Tank 300 2023 review: Ultra petrol

By Byron Mathioudakis · 20 Jul 2023

Cleverly, the GWM Tank 300 slots into a gap in the booming 4WD wagon market, above the popular Suzuki Jimny but below Nissan's Patrol, while infusing more than a hint of classic Toyota LandCruiser and Mercedes G-Class in its size and presentation. But retro-pastiche styling isn't the only drawcard, thanks to keen pricing, an alluring interior and a smooth ride. All the 300 needs is more polish.

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Best utes arriving in 2023

By Byron Mathioudakis · 20 Jul 2023

There's no denying that Australians are in a seemingly never-ending love affair with the ute - just a glance at the top-10 best-selling models here and you will see no less than four different pick-ups.In 2022 we saw the launch of the new-geneation Ford Ranger, while the Toyota HiLux was also updated, but that doesn't mean there aren't more exciting utes on the way for 2023.From big units like the Ford F-150 to Volkswagen's take on the Ford Ranger formula, here are the utes to look foward to in 2023.

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Kia's plans to dominate delivery, taxi sales

By Byron Mathioudakis · 17 Jul 2023

Kia is set to branch out into medium and large-sized electric vans and people-mover/minivans in Australia from the middle of this decade, following the successful trial of the Niro PBV Purpose Built Vehicle.

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Kia Tasman: the Aussie ties making it happen

By Byron Mathioudakis · 16 Jul 2023

By now, everybody knows Kia is developing a midsized ute to take on the bestselling Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger. We also know that Project TK – which may or may not be badged Tasman as per recent patent applications, because the brand won't confirm the all-important name for the time being – will launch before mid-2026, with an array of styles and grades to make it as competitive as possible.

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Honda is finally on a roll and here's why!

By Byron Mathioudakis · 15 Jul 2023

Has Honda been right all along? Exactly two years into its controversial but since mimicked agency model, with fixed driveaway pricing and no haggling or discounting, it’s time to assess the Japanese brand’s Australian report card – and things certainly seem to be looking up, especially for buyers.

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Kia Tasman to shrug off next-gen HiLux and co

By Byron Mathioudakis · 09 Jul 2023

Kia has revealed that the upcoming Tasman is 'futureproofed' to better take on key medium ute rivals such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux. With the Australian team based in Sydney intimately involved in the TK-series' gestation in Korea over the past five years, a degree of flexibility to make last-minute changes and updates leading up to its late-2025/early 2026 launch have been implemented,

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Why the Kia EV5 will be the next big EV thing

By Byron Mathioudakis · 08 Jul 2023

Is this going to be the electric vehicle (EV) that Australian families finally embraces en-masse? Looking all the world like a shrunken Kia EV9 full-sized SUV and displayed as the Concept EV5 at the brand's "Chinese EV Day" back in March, the production version due out sometime next year as a 2025 model is set to be the next EV in the company's growing armament of battery-powered vehicles.

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