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 Toyota Prius Prime PHEV shapes up for Australia
By Byron Mathioudakis · 18 Dec 2025
That the Toyota Prius is set for a return to Australia inside the next 18 months, and possibly sooner, is no surprise. As CarsGuide has recently reported, market forces and consumer preferences are shifting and the sleek five-door liftback is suddenly looking very promising for this market. But the big news is that it’s likely to be a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) only proposition, to once again blaze a trail of affordability and accessibility, just like its four previous hybrid-pioneering predecessors did for 21 years from 2001.
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Toyota HiLux SR 2026 review: snapshot
By Byron Mathioudakis · 17 Dec 2025
The Toyota HiLux SR is the one-up-from-base model in the ninth-gen ute line-up.
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Forget Patrol! We need these Nissans
By Byron Mathioudakis · 16 Dec 2025
Nissan is making no bones about the fact that it needs more models to sell in greater numbers in Australia, with China emerging as a key supplier moving forward. With the current range coming from Thailand (Navara), Japan (X-Trail, Ariya, Patrol), United Kingdom (Qashqai, Juke) and North America (Pathfinder), a lower-cost source is seen as a solution to one of the company’s biggest hurdles.
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Toyota HiLux Workmate 2026 review: snapshot
By Byron Mathioudakis · 14 Dec 2025
The Toyota HiLux Workmate is the entry-level version of the long-lived Japanese ute series.
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Shock 2026 arrival! Ford Bronco for Oz
By Byron Mathioudakis · 13 Dec 2025
Ford has all but signed, sealed and delivered a new type of Bronco for Australia. According to our sources, the Toyota RAV4 mid-sized SUV rival is set to arrive late next year as the belated 2027 replacement for the unsuccessful Escape that was dropped in 2023. Despite looking very similar, note that this is not related to either the monocoque-bodied Bronco Sport SUV, or the much-beefier Bronco 4WD off-roader that’s built on the T6 Ranger platform. Launched in 2021, both are very popular North America-focused models not earmarked for our market.
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Toyota HiLux 2026 review: Australian first drive
By Byron Mathioudakis · 11 Dec 2025
Can you teach an old dog new tricks? The Toyota HiLux has undergone an big facelift inside and out for 2026 for a fresh look. But it's underneath where the most welcome changes occur, with new comfort-biased suspension from SR5 grades and up, to improve the previous hard ride. And even the carryover heavy-duty suspension is nicer. Yes, the HiLux is still old and cramped, but it's palpably better.
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Toyota Tacoma to sit alongside HiLux in Australia?
By Byron Mathioudakis · 09 Dec 2025
Toyota has finally confirmed its desire to introduce the Tacoma to Australia as soon as possible, as part of a wider ute strategy that will crucially also involve – rather than supplant – the HiLux. The intention would be for the N400-series one-tonne ute unveiled in North America back in 2023 to eventually sit above the newly-restyled HiLux in this country, as a larger, premium proposition.
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2026 Nissan Navara sales to grow ute market
By Byron Mathioudakis · 06 Dec 2025
Nissan believes Australians will continue to buy the traditional one-tonne ute in increasing numbers, directly contradicting what Toyota said at the recent launch of the facelifted HiLux range.
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Nissan Australia MD: Please appreciate what we've got
By Byron Mathioudakis · 03 Dec 2025
The head of an entire region within one of the larger car companies in the world has asked Australians to better appreciate the scale of achievement behind bringing their latest model to market. Speaking at the global unveiling of the Nissan D27 Navara in Adelaide last week, Nissan Oceania Managing Director, Andrew Humberstone, said that dismissing the one-tonne ute as merely a rebadged Mitsubishi Triton is underestimating the magnitude of hard work that has gone into the project.
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Hitting Peak SUV and the return of cheaper cars
By Byron Mathioudakis · 30 Nov 2025
Has the world finally hit peak SUV? Hot on the heels of the release of the BYD Atto 1 and Kia K4 hatch in Australia, smaller, lighter, more efficient and – best of all – more-affordable passenger-car models are set to start making a comeback, as manufacturers respond to consumer and market shifts alike.
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