Articles by Laura Berry

Laura Berry
Senior Journalist

Laura Berry is a best-selling Australian author and journalist who has been reviewing cars for more than 15 years.

Much more of a Hot Wheels girl than a Matchbox one, she grew up in a family that would spend every Friday night sitting on a hill at the Speedway watching sprint cars slide in the mud. The best part of this was being given money to buy stickers. She loved stickers… which then turned into a love of tattoos.

Out of boredom, she learnt to drive at 14 on her parents’ bush property in what can only be described as a heavily modified Toyota LandCruiser.  

At the age of 17 she was told she couldn’t have a V8 Holden ute by her mother, which led to Laura and her father laying in the driveway for three months building a six-cylinder ute with more horsepower than a V8.  

Since then she’s only ever owned V8s, with a Ford Falcon XW and a Holden Monaro CV8 part of her collection over the years.

Laura began her career as a journalist in the entertainment industry writing about music for The South China Morning Post; television for tvChoice; fashion and celebrities for The Mirror before combining her passion for cars with her profession and moved into motoring.

In 2008 she joined News Custom Publishing as Managing Editor of its motoring titles, including Australia’s Best Cars and the official programs for V8 Supercars, Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

In 2011 she joined CarsGuide (for the first time), back when it was part of a newspaper, and learnt to test and review cars.

This followed a move to Motor as Production Editor, then Wheels as News Editor while also writing for Street Machine and Top Gear Australia.

As the media landscape shifted she left print journalism and joined online motoring publication GoAuto as a senior writer.

A brief stint in automotive public relations then followed before she joined CarsGuide in 2015 (for the second time) as Senior Journalist where she remains to this day.

A wife and mother, and author of two books, her current daily driver is a chopped 1951 Ford Tudor with a V8, of course.

You can find Laura on LinkedIn, TikTok and Instagram.

Expertise

  • Performance and custom cars
  • Family cars and SUVs

Education

  • Bachelor of Arts | Macquarie University

Featured Publications

  • The Mirror (UK) | 2002-2006
  • South China Morning Post | 2004-2006
  • tvChoice (UK) | 2004-2006
  • TVQuick (UK) | 2004-2006
  • Mercedes-Benz Magazine | 2005-2006
  • Australia’s Best Cars | 2008-2010
  • V8 Supercars Official Program | 2008-2010
  • Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix Official Program | 2008-2010
  • Australian MotoGP Official Program | 2008-2010
  • Motor | 2012-2013
  • Street Machine | 2012-2015
  • Wheels | 2013
  • Top Gear | 2013-2014
  • GoAuto | 2014-2015
  • CarsGuide | 2015-present
Mini Countryman 2024 review: S
By Laura Berry · 28 Jun 2024
Has the Mini become too maxi? We tested the new-generation Mini Countryman S which has grown to become the biggest Mini ever made. So does that mean it's not a good small SUV for an urban lifestyle? We found out.
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Electric G80 with 600km range
By Laura Berry · 28 Jun 2024
The electric G80 is a cutprice rival to BMW M5 and now it has a range of up to 600km with this new update
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Mahindra's "Jeep" could come to Australia
By Laura Berry · 25 Jun 2024
Mahindra's move to make it's Thar off-roader safer could see it come to Australia
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What is a car's ECU?
By Laura Berry · 25 Jun 2024
Think of an ECU as a combustion engine’s brain.
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Tesla Model Y sales in free fall
By Laura Berry · 24 Jun 2024
Petrol cars are making a comeback in Europe as electric sales fall taking Teslas Model Y down
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What an EV's price will buy you in ICE land
By Laura Berry · 23 Jun 2024
The cost of electric cars is coming down at last and it’s happening fast, too, with big brands slashing prices.
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Kia EV9 2024 review: Earth long-term | Part 3
By Laura Berry · 22 Jun 2024
After testing cars for 15 years Richard Berry has dicovered what could be the best car ever made, after Kia's EV9 Earth came to stay with the family for three months.
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Electric Benz eSprinter van loads up
By Laura Berry · 20 Jun 2024
Mercedes-Benz has updated its Sprinter van range with more safety equipment and comfort features, plus the addition of an all-electric eSprinter variant. The entry price into the line-up now kicks off at almost $5000 more than before.The Sprinter range now starts at $71,740 for the medium wheel base (MWB) 311 Panel van and tops out at $121,041 for the new fully electric long wheel base (LWB) eSpinter.All variants from panel vans to cab chassis body styles come updated with a large amount of safety tech including Active Lane Keeping Assist and Traffic Sign Assist.Two new safety items specifically tailored for commercial use are Moving Off Information Assist which monitors areas around the vehicles at speed below 10km/h and Side Guard Assist which supports the blind spot warning system but at lower speeds.A leather-wrapped steering wheel with touch sensitive buttons and hands-off detection is also new.The features join the Sprinters otherwise comprehensive safety list which includes AEB, crosswind assistance, load adaptive control and roll over mitigation.  A thorax airbag has been added as well to the existing front and side airbags protecting the driver and front passenger. Cabin media technology also gets a boost with a new 10.25-inch touchscreen and “Hey Mercedes” assistant with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android auto.The Sprinter range has lost its front wheel drive variants as it moves exclusively to rear-wheel drive with a 2.0-litre four cylinder turbo diesel engine powering the combustion engine line-up. The four-cylinder comes in several tunes producing: 84kW/300 Nm in the 311 Panel Van; 120kW/340Nm in the 315 and 415 Panel Van; 125kW and 400Nm in the 317, 417, 517 Panel vans and 517 Cab Chassis; and 140kW and 450Nm in 319, 419, 519 Panel Vans and 519 Cab Chassis.The new electric eSprinter is also rear-wheel drive and comes in panel van form only. The eSprinter is offered in a choice of MWB with an 81kWh battery and LWB with a 113kWh battery with a range up up to 440km (WLPT). Both eSpinters have a single electric motor making 150kW and 400Nm, and have a gross vehicle weight of up to 4.25 tonnes.As for ownership costs all Sprinters including the eSprinter are covered by Mercedes-Benz's five-year/250,000km warranty, while the eSprinter's electric battery is covered by an eight-year 160,000km warranty.  
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Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 2024 review: snapshot
By Laura Berry · 13 Jun 2024
The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon sits at the top-of-the-range and it’s available in a two-door body style for $83,950 and four-door for $90,450.Coming standard on the Rubicon grade are LED headlights, 17-inch alloy wheels, proximity key and push-button start, Nappa leather upholstery, power and heated front seats, 12.3-inch media screen, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a nine-speaker Alpine sound system and dark tint windows.Powering all Wranglers is a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder making 200kW and 400Nm. An eight-speed automatic transmission shifts gears and sends the drive to all four wheels.The Wrangler has three-star score from a possible five-star ANCAP safety rating.
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Jeep Wrangler Overland 2024 review: snapshot
By Laura Berry · 11 Jun 2024
The Jeep Wrangler Overland sits in the middle of the range with a list price of $84,950.Coming standard on the Overland grade are LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, proximity key and push button start, premium McKinley power and heated front seats, 12.3-inch media screen, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a nine speaker Alpine sound system and dark tiny windows.Powering all Wranglers is a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder making 200kW and 400Nm. An eight-speed automatic transmission shifts gears and sends the drive to all four wheels.The Wrangler has three-star score from a possible five-star ANCAP safety rating.
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