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.

Holden to reshape Chinese SUVs, utes
By Byron Mathioudakis · 17 Oct 2025
Australian engineering is set to shape the next-generation of GWM vehicles from the planning stage, in an effort to make them more suitable to roads outside of China.
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Chinese brands are “more noise than news”
By Byron Mathioudakis · 16 Oct 2025
The head of a long-lived car brand has questioned the actual level of threat from Chinese brands like BYD, saying they have more bark than bite currently in Australia.
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GWM Tank 700 2026 review: Australia preview drive
By Byron Mathioudakis · 16 Oct 2025
GWM is keen to expand its horizons with the Tank 700, a large luxury 4x4. Against rivals like the Mercedes G-Class and Land Rover Defender , the Chinese off-roader plans to outmanoeuvre them with a mix of sheer opulence, off-road capability, on-road refinement and advanced hybrid tech, at a fraction of their cost – if it gets the green light . Here's our first drive on Australian soil.
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The coolest van ever turns 60
By Byron Mathioudakis · 13 Oct 2025
History’s most influential van ever turns 60. With a global impact that includes Australia, the Ford Transit changed the way vans were designed, engineered and marketed from the very moment it hit the streets – initially in the UK and Europe – in October, 1965. Today the Transit is to Europeans what the Holden and Ford utes meant to Australians and what the F-Series pick-up is to Americans.
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Worst Australian car decisions this century | Opinion
By Byron Mathioudakis · 11 Oct 2025
With the first quarter of this century already over, we take a look back at the biggest mistakes made by car makers in Australia over the past 25 years.
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Most-improved SUV of 2026 confirmed!
By Byron Mathioudakis · 10 Oct 2025
This year is not even over and yet one of 2026’s most-improved SUVs is already looming in sight for Australia. Due by the middle of next year, the GWM Haval Jolion will undergo a significant transformation to improve and update a number of shortfalls to bring it up to class standards against the best-selling Hyundai Kona, MG S5 and Chery Tiggo 4.
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Big new diesel ute and SUV coming
By Byron Mathioudakis · 07 Oct 2025
Diesel engines are far from over, with a big new 3.0-litre unit is destined for one of Australia’s emerging range of utes and SUVs. To make its global debut in Australia sometime in the middle of next year, this internal combustion engine with no electrification assistance will arrive in an in-line four-cylinder turbo-diesel configuration that promises to be one of the most efficient of its type available anywhere in the world.
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Is Australia’s ute addiction harming us?
By Byron Mathioudakis · 04 Oct 2025
With the vast majority of utes being diesels, are Australians breathing in more noxious fumes now than 15 years ago? After all, back in 2010, most utes were either of the smaller one-tonne variety or lighter car-based locally-made Holden and Ford Falcon-based models with six-cylinder/V8 petrol options. To find out if Australians breathed easier 15 years ago, we’re comparing the top-three sellers of 2010 with their modern equivalents.
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VW Amarok pairs up with new Chinese ute
By Byron Mathioudakis · 01 Oct 2025
Volkswagen will launch an all-new version of the Amarok that is completely unrelated to any previous ute wearing the famous badge. Due in 2027, it is expected to finally replace the ageing, 2H-series Amarok original launched in 2010, still in production in Argentina for the South American market and facelifted in 2024. But the really big news is that this will be a variation of the recently-released LDV (or Maxus) Terron 9 that’s also sold in Australia as the MG U9, courtesy of Chinese automotive conglomerate SAIC.
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Good news! Euro value cheapie to live on in Australia
By Byron Mathioudakis · 30 Sep 2025
One of Europe’s cheapest small cars will live on in Australia – for now. While the Skoda Scala’s future hangs in the balance due to shifting buyer preferences, plunging sales and a new-model onslaught that includes value EVs like the coming Epiq, its Fabia kid brother is treading just enough water to justify continuing importation.
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