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
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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Jeep Wrangler Sport S 2024 review: snapshot
By Laura Berry · 09 Jun 2024
The Jeep Wrangler Sport S is the entry-point into the range with its list price of $75,950. Standard features include LED headlights, 17-inch alloy wheels, proximity key and push-button start, heated front seats, A 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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The best and worst car colours
By Laura Berry · 09 Jun 2024
There are car manufacturers that still offer wild and stunning colours. We’re not talking about supercar brands like Lamborghini or ultra luxury makes like Rolls Royce, nope here are the everyday car brands that do colours for the people ready to commit to a bright pink hue called Tuscadero.
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Jeep Wrangler 2024 review
By Laura Berry · 07 Jun 2024
How do you change the Jeep Wrangler, without changing anything, but making it better than before? Well, they've done it and we've tested the updated Jeep Wrangler at its Australian launch.
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Dacia Spring to follow winter?
By Laura Berry · 05 Jun 2024
The Dacia Spring is oen of the most affordable electric cars in the world but can it go the distance?
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Kia Sportage 2024 review: SX Hybrid
By Laura Berry · 25 May 2024
Hybrids aren't a new thing but they are still relatively new for Kia. Following the Sorento, Kia has launched the Sportage Hybrid and CarsGuide has tested the entry-grade SX. It's quite a bit pricier than its petrol twin, so is it worth the fuel savings?
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Kia EV9 2024 review: Earth long-term | Part 2
By Laura Berry · 20 May 2024
The Berry family has made it two months into their long-term test of the Kia EV9 fully electric seven-seater SUV but is it still the best car this clan claims it has ever tested?
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Ford Mustang Mach-E GT vs Kia EV6 GT 2024 comparison review
By Laura Berry · 17 May 2024
Sometimes I think the present is nowhere near as futuristic as I thought it would be when pondering things 20 years ago.
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Ford considers UK petrol pull-out
By Laura Berry · 13 May 2024
Ford could pull its petrol and diesel cars from the UK rather than pay the price of penalties brought in by the Zero Emmission Vehcile mandate, and that could mean it turns to Australia to sell its right-hand drive British models and may see the return of the Escape.
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Will Ford end its EV plans? Or lose billions?
By Laura Berry · 11 May 2024
Ford is losing billions of dollars as it tries to get its electric vehicle plans off the ground, so how can it compete with thye likes of BYD and MG?
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