Articles by Laura Berry

The Berry family gives all its long-term test cars names but if any of them really needed one it's the Mazda CX-60 D50e GT Vision which has just finished its first month living with them.

This year was different. Good different. The Aussie car landscape started to change noticeably as more and more electric cars were introduced, some from brands none of us may have considered before.

Australia's crash test body ANCAP has probably saved your life without you ever knowing and it ensures that safety is a standard feature and not an optional extra. Here's who's behind ANCAP and how the safety benchmarks are getting stricter on car companies.

The world's fourth largest auto maker has solved the long times it takes to charge an EV battery and the answer is beautifully simple.

The Suzuki Jimny seems the perfect vehicle to be made into an EV, but there's a good reason why it can't.

Giant American pick-ups like the Dodge Ram and Chevrolet Siverado are proving so popular right now in Australia, but the next big thing could be little utes with Suzuki’s Aussie boss contemplating a Jimny-based ute or even the return of the Mighty Boy.Speaking with Suzuki Australia’s General Manager Michael Pachota at the launch of the new Jimny XL, CarsGuide asked if the new little off roader could be turned into a ute, given the longer wheelbase.“The thought did cross my mind,” Pachota laughs. “Let’s cut the back off an XL and make it an X-Ute. Could be cool.“I’d love to say it’s a consideration for Suzuki Global but I’m just not that close to that side of things,” he says.Asked if there’d be enough buyers for a small Jimny ute in Australia to convince Suzuki’s head office to build it, Pachota said that he could see it being popular not just locally, but world-wide.“I think from a global perspective there’s enough demand to say that it's a good export model and/or local introduction.”It wouldn’t be the first time Suzuki had made a Jimny-based ute. A long-wheel based Suzuki Sierra ute called the Stockman was sold in Australia during the 1980s and ’90s.The Stockman had a wheelbase of 2375mm, while the Jimny XL's is 2590mm.The 1980s also saw a two-door micro ute called the Suzuki Mighty Boy cause a stir on Australian streets.  “I would love to reintroduce the Mighty Boy,” Pachota says. “Can you imagine a new spec of the Mighty Boy?"The Suzuki Mighty Boy measured just 3195mm end to end making it eligible for Japan’s smallest kei car vehicle category.Its tray measured 1100mm long, 600mm wide and 300 deep, and despite the obvious impracticalities the Mighty Boy was seen as a fun and cheeky island in the conservative automotive ocean of the 1980s. “It’s a similar story to the Jimny as well in terms of its popularity back in the day and really unique characteristics,” Pachota says. “If there’s one available I’ve definitely got my hand up for it, without a doubt.”If they are ever to become a production reality, the Jimny ute and new Mighty Boy could see the Australian automotive landscape return to a retro 1980s trend, with Subaru also thought to be thinking about bringing back its small Brumby ute which was sold in Australia from 1978 to 1994.A new-gen Brumby could be possible now that Subaru and Toyota are sharing technology. Toyota’s sub-HiLux Stout pickup could form the basis of a 21st century Subaru Brumby.If the enormous sales of Ford’s Maverick baby Ranger ute and the Hyundai Santa Cruz in the United States are anything to go by the same success could be seen in Australia.“Are we considering it from a global perspective? I don’t think so. We’re a small car specialist,” Pachota says. “We definitely see ourselves continuing that kind of type of brand philosophy in terms of being small car specialists.”So for now despite the jokes we probably won't see a Jimny ute or Mighty Boy, and Aussies will continue to buy big utes. But if the market does change Pachota says Suzuki will, too.“As different markets progress, there will be a difference in terms of the demand for size of cars, so we would adapt to the market.”

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.

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.

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.

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.