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 Mercedes-Benz C-Class review: 2007-2013
By Graham Smith · 03 Jun 2016
The C-Class was the entry to the prestige segment and still resonates as a solid choice. New The Mercedes-Benz C-Class was conceived to compete with the BMW 3 Series at the entry level of the prestige segment. When the W204 series C-Class arrived in 2007 it had the common Benz trait of coming in a bewildering range of
Read the article
Used Nissan Murano review: 2009-2014
By Graham Smith · 27 May 2016
Graham Smith reviews the 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Nissan Murano as a used buy.
Read the article
Used Kia Optima review: 2011-2014
By Graham Smith · 20 May 2016
Graham Smith reviews the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Kia Optima as a used buy.
Read the article
Used Mini Countryman review: 2011-2014
By Graham Smith · 17 May 2016
Graham Smith reviews the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 Mini Countryman as a used buy.
Read the article
Used BMW 1 Series review: 2004-2011
By Graham Smith · 29 Apr 2016
The 1 Series gave aspiring owners a propeller badge but costs mount with the miles. New The blue-and-white spinner emblem of BMW has been one of the more desired badges on the Australian motoring landscape. With so many aspiring to own a BMW, the company expanded its model range so more could join the club. The 3
Read the article
Used Hyundai i20 review: 2010-2014
By Graham Smith · 22 Apr 2016
Competent rather than thrilling, the i20 is a popular town commuter car. New With our cities becoming more and more clogged with traffic it's not surprising that smaller cars, such as the Hyundai i20, are gaining favour with buyers Hyundai launched the i20 in 2010, following in the small car tracks of the Excel and
Read the article
Used Holden VF Calais review: 2013-2014
By Graham Smith · 15 Apr 2016
Graham Smith reviews the 2013 and 2014 Holden VF Calais as a used buy.
Read the article
Used Holden Barina review: 2011-2014
By Graham Smith · 01 Apr 2016
Holden did much to improve the fitness of the Barina but some horror stories persist. New Holden had a lot of ground to make up when it launched the TM Barina in 2011 — the previous model had been widely panned for its poor quality, reliability and safety. About the only positive thing you could say about the TK
Read the article
Used Ford Falcon XR6 review: 2008-2012
By Graham Smith · 25 Mar 2016
Ford's sporty six kept up the performance image but had a thrftier LPG variant. New Having dropped its V8 in the 1980s, Ford went looking for a suitable model on which to hang its performance credentials. The answer was the XR6, a six-cylinder sports sedan created more in the European style than the earlier GTs that
Read the article
Used Mazda 6 review: 2002-2012
By Graham Smith · 18 Mar 2016
Graham Smith reviews the 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 Mazda6 as a used buy.
Read the article