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
Toyota Corolla Cross hybrid 2023 review: snapshot
By Laura Berry · 27 Oct 2022
The Corolla Cross Hybrid can be had in three grades. The entry-level is the GX which is two-wheel drive only for a list price of $35,500. Stepping up to the the GXL 2WD will cost you $39,250 while the all-wheel drive is $42,250. The top of the range Atmos is the most expensive with its list price of $46,050 for the two-wheel drive and $49,050 for the all-wheel drive.Is the petrol-electric hybrid small SUV price worth it? Yes, definitely. The hybrid version of the Corolla Cross costs just $2500 more than the petrol variant.You’ll save money on fuel, too, with the hybrid using between 4.3 and 4.4L/100km after a combination of open and urban roads. That compared to the fuel consumption of the petrol which is 6.0L/100km.Coming standard on the GX are LED headlights and 17-inch alloy wheels, fabric seats, climate control, proximity keys, an 8.0-inch touchscreen, Android Auto and wireless Apple CarPlay, a six-speaker stereo (with digital radio) and a reversing camera.The GXL gets all that and adds roof rails and rear privacy glass, leather upholstered seats and steering wheel, dual-zone climate control, plus a 10.5-inch display with built-in sat nav.Now the Atmos, which is the fanciest Corolla Cross with its panoramic moon roof and 18-inch alloys, a power tailgate and power driver's seat. Those front seats are heated, and so is the steering wheel. There's a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and wireless phone charging.The Corolla Cross hasn’t been given an ANCAP crash test rating yet, but the advanced safety tech every grade comes with is impressive.All Corolla Crosses come with AEB that can detect pedestrians and cyclists, and impressively can function between 5.0-180km/h. There’s also lane keeping assistance, blind spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert and adaptive cruise control.If you step up to the GXL you’ll get auto braking which works while you’re parking and the Atmos gets auto parking.The impressive airbag tally is the same across the Corolla Cross range, with a total of eight. These include a front centre airbag and driver's knee bag, but there are no side airbags for back seat occupants.
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Toyota Corolla Cross 2023 review
By Laura Berry · 20 Oct 2022
An SUV version of the most popular car on the planet? That's right - an SUV Toyota Corolla. Well, it's called the Corolla Cross and we've driven it, tested it, climbed all over it to find out if this new small SUV is the perfect car for you. Particularly if a C-HR or Yaris Cross is too small, and a RAV4 is too big.
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GWM goes on EV offensive
By Laura Berry · 18 Oct 2022
If you still haven’t realised the car industry is on the threshold of a monumental change, then Great Wall Motors’ announcement of its intention to release 50 EVs by 2025 at the Paris Motor Show should rectify that.
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Here's where you car comes from
By Laura Berry · 07 Oct 2022
Mini’s new fully electric Cooper SE has arrived looking every bit the modern retro take on the very British 1963 Cooper S. Not only does the new electric Mini look like an old one, it wants you to think it hasn’t lost its Britishness - it has tail-lights which glow in the shape of the Union Jack, and it’s even made in England!
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Ford Escape 2023 review: ST-Line long-term | Part 1
By Laura Berry · 07 Oct 2022
The Escape is Ford's rival to the Toyota RAV4 and Mitsubishi Outlander, but it's not as popular as these models - could it be the best kept mid-sized SUV secret on the Australian market?
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Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace 2023 review: Adventure - off-road test
By Laura Berry · 06 Oct 2022
The Tiguan Allspace Adventure is an amazing story - a car created by Volkswagen Australia out of whatever parts they could find so that buyers didn't have to wait to own a new SUV. The result could be the best Tiguan on the planet.
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Three minutes to charge an EV!
By Laura Berry · 29 Sep 2022
It can take hours to charge an electric vehicle, but this team of Harvard scientists reckon they can reduce that time to three minutes
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Aussie hydrogen ute wins over world!
By Laura Berry · 26 Sep 2022
Australia's H2X has announced the Warrego hydrogen fuel cell ute is undergoing final testing before release.
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Waiting for a RAV4? You better sit down...
By Laura Berry · 24 Sep 2022
As if waiting times for new cars weren’t long enough - now Toyota has more bad news for people looking forward to seeing their vehicles delivered any time soon with a global apology and an admission that it could take even longer.
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BMW's 500 horsepower family station wagon
By Laura Berry · 23 Sep 2022
BMW has revealed pricing and specs for the 2023 BMW M3 Touring ahead of its arrival early next year.
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