Articles by Laura Berry

Laura Berry
Senior Journalist

Laura Berry is a best-selling Australian author and journalist who has been reviewing cars for almost 20 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 Sprintcars 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 has authored two books and worked as a journalist writing about science, cars, music, TV, cars, art, food, cars, finance, architecture, theatre, cars, film and cars. But, mainly cars.  

A wife and parent, her current daily driver is a chopped 1951 Ford Tudor with a V8.

Mini Activates Go-Mart Mode
By Laura Berry · 12 Dec 2023
The new-generation version of Mini’s largest model, the Countryman SUV, will arrive in Australia early in 2024 with a new look, fresh tech and more room - yep, it’s even bigger.
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Yuan Up next for BYD
By Laura Berry · 11 Dec 2023
It seems like every month there is a new BYD model revealed in China and that's because the company is building a lot of new electric cars fast. And now there's news of another upcoming small electric SUV called the Yuan UP, which could steal sales from the MG ZS EV.
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Is the GLB the RAV4 of Mercedes-Benz?
By Laura Berry · 08 Dec 2023
Mercedes-Benz’s GLB could be the most underrated SUV from the brand with its seven-seater practicality at a good price, but now the entry fee has gone up as the standard features list has expanded.
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Suzuki Jimny 2024 review: XL
By Laura Berry · 06 Dec 2023
There's not a person on the planet that doesn't agree that the three-door Jimny is cute and capable off the road, but does a the bigger Jimny XL solve the baby version's problems of space and practicality? We went to the Australian launch of the new and very first five-door Jimny XL to find out.
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Mercedes-Benz GLC300 Coupe 2024 review
By Laura Berry · 06 Dec 2023
The Mercedes-Benz GLC300 Coupe has arrived for more money and less practicality than its regular SUV sibling but does that make it such a bad family car?
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Jimny five-door lands and it costs how much?
By Laura Berry · 05 Dec 2023
Suzuki's five-door Jimny XL has finally launched in Australia and arrived with list price starting from $34,990.
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Great idea or worst idea by McLaren's boss?
By Laura Berry · 03 Dec 2023
McLaren’s new global boss Michael Leiters loves SUVs - no seriously, I’m not making that up he actually said “I love SUVs” in an interview with Autocar last year. He also made a heart shape with his fingers when he said it. OK, I made that last part up, but I like to imagine he did. What’s true is he very much wants McLaren to build an SUV and that raises the question: do SUVs break luxury sportsc
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Bentley Bentayga 2024 review: Azure V8
By Laura Berry · 27 Nov 2023
Think $170K is a lot to spend on a Mercedes-Benz SUV? Well, triple that amount and you're close to the cost-of-entry for the Bentley Bentyaga. But can it handle family duties? We found out.
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Nuke Ford? Tear gas Toyota? Top 5 patents!
By Laura Berry · 26 Nov 2023
We’ve all wanted to drive standing up before, right? And we’ve all given a go, haven’t we? Haven’t we? Okay, probably not. But Ford’s recent patent of a new invention that would allow people to drive their convertible SUV while fully upright had us thinking about the other ideas that car companies have come up with that are just plain wild, or actually quite good. It’s a fine line.
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Toyota Kluger 2024 review: Grande Hybrid AWD
By Laura Berry · 20 Nov 2023
The Toyota Kluger Hybrid is the Camry of SUVs, but how well does the hybrid system save fuel and do you need to pick the top of the range Grande? We have the answers...
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