Articles by Laura Berry

Think the Kia Carnival is the king of people movers? Well meet the fully electric Zeekr 009, because this is truly the Rolls-Royce of luxury vans but without the price tag.

The small electric SUV segment is growing fast in Australia, and MG has just launched a model that could not only undercut more established rivals, but even beat them on the road.

The GWM Tank 500 should stand out for being one of the first hardcore off-roaders with a hyrbid system... but we're only a month into a long term test and the Berry family has found there are also a few not-so great reasons the vehicle stands out

Ford Australia has axed so many of its cars over the past two years that it almost has nothing left on sale. It’s just lucky that one of the few cars left that it does sell — the Ranger ute —  does so in enormous numbers. So what’s missing from Ford’s line-up? A lot. Here are the cars we think Ford really needs in Australia right now.Ford lacks a rival, to not just to hardcore four-wheel drives like the Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol, but to more domesticated Aussie family favourites such as the Toyota Kluger, Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe.Yes, the Ford Everest seats seven and can go off-road with the best of them, but a more plush and comfortable suburban cruiser would fit nicely in the line-up.Now this might hurt a little bit and I apologise in advance, but in South Africa you can buy a Ford Territory. I know, what the Ford!?So, the South African Ford Territory is made in China and sold in other countries but it’s made in right-hand drive, which means there’s no reason why we can’t have it here.This new Territory isn’t as big as the Santa Fe at 4.63m long so it’s not really a large SUV but still, what a shame.What Australia really needs is a Ford Explorer, as in the petrol-powered version form the United States, not the UK electric version. The US Explorer is a a five-metre long seven seater, while the UK version is 4.4m and smaller than an Escape.Nope, bigger is better in this case and while the Explorer is currently only made in left hand drive, there is a chance a right hand drive might get the green light for the next-gen model.Ford axing the Escape is the car company equivalent to throwing away your only pair of pants just because you don’t like the colour of them.OK, that’s a terrible analogy but the point is mid-sized SUVs are the bread and butter of car brands and they sell all year long in large numbers and they’re kind of an essential item to car manufacturers. Ford axed the Escape because it didn’t sell enough of them. But it could easily bring back the Escape because it’s sold in the right-hand drive in the UK.Ford should seriously consider it, the mid-sized SUV segment is increasing in size at 19.6 per cent market share and Ford’s not able to join in the spoils. Toyota has the RAV4, Kia has the Sportage, Nissan has the X-Trail and Ford has nothing. No pants to wear at all.If there’s something Australians love almost as much as mid-sized SUVs it’s a small SUV. We’re talking the likes of the Toyota Corolla Cross, Hyundai Kona and the MG ZS. And Ford did have the Puma, but axed it in 2024 just four years after it arrived.The Puma was a high-quality feeling and premium looking SUV, but it was overpriced compared to its rivals and so sales struggled. People want premium looking at budget prices apparently.The Puma is sold in the UK as a hybrid and a fully-electric vehicle, so bringing it to Australia wouldn’t require anything other than a trip on a boat from Romania where they’re made.So there you are, Ford has pretty much all the cars it needs in right-hand drive to take the fight to rivals such as the Toyota RAV4 and Corolla Cross, the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe.Will we see the Territory again? Will Aussies be OK with a Chinese made Territory? Given the the shift in attitudes and growing maturity towards Chinese brands and their rapid take-up there's no reason they wouldn't be.Sure bringing back the Territory nameplate, plus the Puma and Escape could be a risk for Ford, but would it be as big a risk as having all your eggs in the Ranger basket as it does now?

Volkswagen's incoming new-generation T-Roc small SUV will feature the brand’s first hybrid system when it arrives this year, according to a report It might sound strange but until now when it comes to hybrid vehicles Volkswagen has only offered the plug-in kind (PHEV) or mild variants. Now in a first for the brand a series-parallel hybrid system similar to the one that Toyota uses will debut on the second gen T-Roc.  Series-parallel hybrid systems combine a petrol engine with an electric motor and battery to drive the vehicle’s wheels. The new T-Roc, which makes its debut this September, will use this kind of hybrid system according to British motoring outlet Autocar.According to Autocar, Volkswagen’s CEO Thomas Schafer said the brand needed hybrid vehicles due to a slowdown in battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales and an increase in hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) beng bought as well. "We needed to do it anyway, because South America has a need for an HEV drivetrain - and the T-Roc is built in South America for South America, and also in China, “ Mr Schafer said."Interestingly enough, HEV has also become a big theme in the US specifically. It's a technology that everybody said was not necessary any more, but now with the BEV slowdown in the US, the balance is HEVs."And the T-Roc won't be the only Volkswagen to offer the hybrid system with sources telling Autocar there will also be hybrid versions of the Golf hatch and Tiguan mid-size SUV as well in the next two years.The hybrid T-Roc is expected to make its international debut at the Munich motor show in September.The slow down in EV uptake the past 12 months in Australia and other global markets shows the importance of transitional tech such as hybrid power.Australia is also seeing a surge of interest in hybrid vehicles. In 2024 sales of hybrid vehicles, excluding PHEVs was up by 89.8 per cent for SUVs and 39.9 per cent for hatches and sedans.Currently, the only hybrid is Volkswagen's Australian line-up is the Touareg R and it's a plug-in hybrid.CarsGuide has reached out to Volkswagen Australia for confirmation but was told by a spokesperson that nothing could said on the topic yet as the vehicle hasn’t been revealed. 

Toyota could be about to buy Chinese electric vehicle maker Neta to instantly open a door into the electric vehicle market and into China, the only problem is nobody's told Toyota it seems.Electric cars might be increasingly popular throughout the world and Chinese brands seem to be coming out with new models every day but the world's biggest carmaker Toyota is slow to the EV party. Currently Toyota only has one fully electric vehicle on sale in Australia — the bZ4X — while its electric range throughout the world is very limited as well.It makes sense then for a car maker that's perhaps a little bit behind in electric vehicle development to buy its way in with the purchase of a ready-made electric vehicle company.  In this case the rumour is that Toyota is in discussions with flailing Chinese carmaker Neta to buy it and acquire the technology and know-how to produce electric vehicles and also get a foothold into the lucrative Chinese market.Neta is the sub-brand of Chinese car maker Hozon. The company's first production car the Neta N01 was a small SUV, which launched in 2018, and at the same time was used to debut the Neta brand. What followed next was a meteorite increase in production with Neta selling 64,500 vehicles in 2024. The company has found itself in financial difficulties and has sought financial assistance but after finding an invester the bail-out out deal was called off.According to Chinese website IT Home, Toyota has now become interested in acquiring Neta with the price thought to be around A$1.3 billion. Toyota has come out  and denied any knowledge of the deal with Neta. “I haven't heard of this!” said the Director of the Brand Communication Department of Toyota Motor Investment China, Xu Yiming, on Chinese social media.Currently Neta has five models in its vehicle line-up including the sporty GT coupe, the S saloon and three SUVS - the L, X and Aya.Toyota might not actually go ahead with a deal with Neta, but it’s well known that it has engaged with Chinese companies frequently in the past. Most recently Toyota entered into a joint venture with GAC and the result was the bZ7 four door EV sedan.Toyota also continues to invest in China. In April Toyota's luxury sub-brand Lexus signed a deal with the Chinese government to build a holy owned factory in Shanghai. The only other large car maker to set up a manufacturing plant that doesn’t fall under a joint venture agreement is Tesla. 

Australia get ready for another ute from another brand because Chinese carmaker GAC has confirmed it will bring the production version of its GAC Pickup 01 concept Down Under.

Chinese electric car maker BYD is following a secret five-year massive growth plan, which will see it sell half its vehicles overseas by 2030. This will make it a vehicle manufacturer on the same scale as Toyota and Volkswagen, according to a new report.The report by news outlet Reuters cites four people “familiar with the matter” who said BYD’s executives have committed to an ambitious strategy, which will see the electric vehicle brand undergo such an enormous output and sales increase that the company will rival even the world’s largest car manufacturers.BYD has just become the largest selling brand in its home country of China, overtaking Volkswagen last year with 4.27 million units sold.Last year BYD sold 417,204 vehicles overseas and this year the company plans to double that number to 800,000.  The Reuters report revealed BYD met privately with the company's investors to notify them of the growth plan, but it is not known if an actual 2030 predicted sales figure was disclosed.According to the insiders the way that the company wants to be able to achieve their grand plan is by localising production throughout the world. The plan outlines the need to have factories operating in Hungary, Uzbekistan, Brazil and Thailand in order to be able achieve its goal.BYD’s global growth plan will not include the United States, where recent high tariffs against Chinese carmakers have prevented the brand selling its cars there and made the company focus on Europe as the key to its success. Australia, too, will be part of BYD’s plan. Currently Australia doesn’t impose tariffs on Chinese carmakers and this combined with our fairly new and strong interest in electric cars has seen a multitude of Chinese brands arrive here offering what the established mainstream brands could not — very affordable electric cars.  This includes brands such as Geely, Zeekr, MG and Deepal.In April this year alone BYD sold 3207 in Australia, outstripping even Volkswagen with 2076 sales by an enormous margin. And all of BYD’s cars are electric or hybrids.BYD, which started as a battery maker before turning its hand to producing vehicles, arrived in Australia in 2022 with its first EV, the Atto 3 small SUV. The brand soon brought more vehicles to Australia including the Dolphin, Seal, Sealion 6 and Sealion 7 and the Shark 6. 

What is the best car to drive for a ride hailing service like Uber, Ola and Didi? Well, we thought we’d give you our two cents. Not only are we car experts and have driven thousands of new vehicles but we also spend a surprising amount of time sitting in the back of ride share cars talking to drivers. 

The little Yugo hatchback made by now long-gone Serbian brand Zastava Automobili appears to be making a return to a market that's increasingly being dominated by new Chinese brands, and in another twist, it won't be electric.Made from 1980 to 2008 the Yugo was popular in the United States, India, Egypt and Eastern Europe. The little car was also sold in Australia before Zastava Automobili ended operations.The Yugo brand, however, has been bought by German university professor, Dr Alexander Bjelic, who plans to resurrect the small hatch that's yet to be named.While a production version is still far off, Dr Bjelic used the recent 2025 Munich Car Design Event to show off a concept version. The catch is, it's a tiny scale model in a plastic box for now with Dr Bjelic aiming to have a full-size prototype ready for the 2027 Belgrade Expo. The model shows off the little hatch’s retro-cool looks with a modern twist on the Yugo hatch. The futuristic looks may be reminiscent of a tiny version of Hyundai's Ioniq 5 electric SUV, but Yugo says its upcoming car will be powered by an internal combustion engine. The brand said an electric variant may also become available at a later point.The original Yugo hatch was known for its affordability but had a poor reputation for reliability and build quality. While the car was sold in Australia along with 76 other countries, it's uncertain whether the resurrected version will be sold in Australia.If the Yugo hatch did make it Down Under it would be up against fierce tiny rivals such as Volkswagen's Polo, the Skoda Fabia, Toyota Yaris, Suzuki Swift, MG3 and Mazda2.Still, if Yugo can price the car lower than its competitors and arrive with a design that looks as good as the concept then it could be onto a winner.