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
Picanto micro hatch can stay: Kia Australia
By Laura Berry · 22 Jan 2022
Kia Australia has confirmed that its tiny Picanto hatch will be staying in its local line-up for a long time yet, even though the micro segment it competes in has almost evaporated completely.
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Kia Cerato 2022 review: S sedan
By Laura Berry · 20 Jan 2022
The entry grade Kia Cerato sedan is not the first car most Aussies would choose when looking for a family car, but does that mean it's family unfriendly?
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Kia Sportage GT-Line vs Mitsubishi Outlander Exceed vs Subaru Forester 2.5i-S vs Hyundai Tucson Highlander N Line 2022 comparison review
By Laura Berry · 16 Jan 2022
Who would win in a fight between the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Mitsubishi Outlander, and Subaru Forester? We brought them all together and now we know.
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Kia Stinger about to reach end of line?
By Laura Berry · 16 Jan 2022
It was a 'what the heck?' moment when the Kia Stinger rumbled into dealerships for the first time in 2017 - only a month before the last Australian-made Holden Commodore would roll off the production line - but will lacklustre global sales mean the last affordable rear-wheel-drive sports sedan has reached the end of the road, too?
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Will Kia do a Hyundai with a new lux brand?
By Laura Berry · 15 Jan 2022
Toyota has Lexus, Hyundai has Genesis and now the powers that be at Kia Australia have revealed their thoughts about a luxury sub-brand for themselves.
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Nissan Navara 2022 review: ST-X
By Laura Berry · 08 Jan 2022
The Navara Dual-Cab ST-X 4x4 ute may suit some families, but is it right for yours?
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Subaru Forester 2022 review
By Laura Berry · 11 Dec 2021
The Subaru Forester has been updated, but you wouldn't know by looking at it.
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Kia ute confession
By Laura Berry · 05 Dec 2021
After years of Kia Australia teasing us with its plans for a proper off-road ute to take on the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, the Korean car maker has admitted...
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Kia Sportage S 2022 review: snapshot
By Laura Berry · 26 Nov 2021
The S is the entry grade in the Sportage range starting with a list price of $32,445 for the 2.0-litre petrol variant with a manual gear box. This steps up to $34,445 for the auto, and then $39,845 for the diesel with an automatic transmission.
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Kia Sportage SX 2022 review: snapshot
By Laura Berry · 26 Nov 2021
The SX sits above the entry grade S in the Kia Sportage range and it starts with a list price of $35,000 for the 2.0-litre petrol variant with the manual gearbox and $37,000 for the auto version. The SX in diesel guise and with an auto lists for $42,400.
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