Articles by Graham Smith

Graham Smith
Contributing Journalist

With a passion for cars dating back to his childhood and having a qualification in mechanical engineering, Graham couldn’t believe his good fortune when he was offered a job in the Engineering Department at General Motors-Holden’s in the late-1960s when the Kingswood was king and Toyota was an upstart newcomer. It was a dream come true.

Over the next 20 years Graham worked in a range of test and development roles within GMH’s Experimental Engineering Department, at the Lang Lang Proving Ground, and the Engine Development Group where he predominantly worked on the six-cylinder and V8 engines.

If working for Holden wasn’t exciting enough he also spent two years studying General Motors Institute in America, with work stints with the Chassis Engineering section at Pontiac, and later took up the post of Holden’s liaison engineer at Opel in Germany.

But the lure of working in the media saw him become a fulltime motorsport reporter and photographer in the late-1980s following the Grand Prix trail around the world and covering major world motor racing events from bases first in Germany and then London.

After returning home to Australia in the late-1980s Graham worked on numerous motoring magazines and newspapers writing about new and used cars, and issues concerning car owners. These days, Graham is CarsGuide's longest standing contributor.

Used Hyundai i30 review: 2012-2014
By Graham Smith · 19 Aug 2016
Graham Smith reviews the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Hyundai i30 as a used buy. Hyundai hatch's value proposition is still strong. Shame about the radio. New When the first i30 arrived in 2007, it typified Hyundai's progress as a maker of quality, reliable vehicles and earned Carsguide's Car of the Year gong that year. It was
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Used Honda CR-V review: 2012-2014
By Graham Smith · 12 Aug 2016
Graham Smith reviews the 2012, 2013 and 2014 Honda CR-V as a used buy.
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Used Mazda 3 review: 2009-2013
By Graham Smith · 04 Aug 2016
Graham Smith reviews the second generation Mazda3 as a used buy. New A car that stormed the market, the Mazda3 was sweetly timed to take advantage of the shift to smaller cars. The first 3, launched in 2004, won a huge following in no time and its 2009 successor maintained the momentum. Mazda had a lot riding on this
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Used Volkswagen Tiguan review: 2008-2014
By Graham Smith · 29 Jul 2016
Graham Smith reviews the first generation VW Tiguan between 2008 and 2014 as a used buy. The neat SUV fits long-limbed occupants and has variants to suit most owners. New As sales of SUVs started to soar, Volkswagen wasted little time producing its own. Badged the Tiguan and launched in 2008, it gave SUV buyers the
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Used Volkswagen Jetta review: 2006-2011
By Graham Smith · 01 Jul 2016
Graham Smith reviews the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 VW Jetta as a used buy. A three-box version of the Golf, the Jetta is best driven with a clutch pedal. New VW cashed in on the soaring popularity of the Golf by adding a bootlid and rear window in 2006 and calling the variant the Jetta. For all intents and
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Used Lexus GS300 and GS430 review: 2005-2011
By Graham Smith · 24 Jun 2016
Graham Smith reviews the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 Lexus GS300 and GS430 as a used buy. Lexus took on the big German brands with build quality but rivals have a lively edge. New Look around you on the road and you'll see heaps of Benzes, BMWs and Audis, standing out with their distinctive
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Used Suzuki Kizashi review: 2010-2014
By Graham Smith · 21 Jun 2016
Graham Smith reviews the 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Suzuki Kizashi as a used buy.
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Expert tips for buying a used car
By Graham Smith · 15 Jun 2016
Buying secondhand shouldn't be a lottery. Here's a commonsense check-list. If you think shopping for a new car is hard, buying a used one is a far greater challenge. Get it right and you could enjoy years of affordable, mostly trouble-free motoring — get it wrong and you could be in for a nightmare ride. An
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Used BMW 5 Series review: 2003-2010
By Graham Smith · 10 Jun 2016
Graham Smith reviews the BMW 5 Series from 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 as a used buy.
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Used Subaru Outback review: 2009-2014
By Graham Smith · 10 Jun 2016
City types can venture off-road in Subaru’s high-riding wagon. New The idea of a high-riding station wagon with limited off-road capability seemed a clever one when Subaru introduced the Outback. After all, not everyone wanted to go serious bush-bashing and most SUV buyers really wanted the high-driving position
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