Articles by Laura Berry

Formula 1 yoke-style steering wheels in cars will be been banned in China after government testing found them not only more difficult to use but potentially more dangerous in accidents, according to a report.Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla and several other carmakers will have to revert to traditional style round steering steering wheels from 2027 in China, after it was found yoke steering wheels could present unnecessary hazards.Chinese publication Autohome reports that China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has drawn up draft legislation banning the yoke steering wheels.According to the government findings, yoke steering wheels risk concentrating too much force on the driver in a collision compared to round steering wheels which diffuse the force over a larger area.Airbag deployment was also found to be potentially more hazardous on yoke-style steering wheels compared to rounder ones.Finally it was also seen that yoke-style steering wheels were more difficult to use in environments that required larger steering inputs such as urban areas with tight turns or manoeuvring in spaces requiring constant changes of direction such as parking.While yoke steering wheels in cars aren’t new, there has been a resurgence led by some brands such as Lexus in its RZ small SUV and Tesla in its Model S and X over the years to add a futuristic look and feel to their vehicle cabins. The upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQS will also be offered with a yoke -style wheel, too.Yoke steering wheels are used in Formula 1 due to their compact dimensions in cramped cockpits along with putting vehicle controls under the driver’s fingertips for instant reactions.The yoke steering wheel works perfectly in Formula 1 where steering is calibrated specifically for a track. On a public road, however, which presents a wide variety of steering inputs, the yoke steering wheels can be more challenging for a driver and may represent a safety risk.The Chinese ruling, which when passed will mandate all cars from next year to have circular steering wheels, could force the hand of other car makers to follow suit. And with Australia now seeing more and more Chinese brands or China-sourced vehicles coming to Australia it’s unlikely they’ll arrive with anything other than traditional circular steering wheels either.

Road rage is such an ugly part of driving, but the type of car you own could be a magnet for bullies. Having driven thousands of cars over 15 years of testing, here are three of the best cars I think will help you avoid the wrath of other drivers and three that might attract more hate when on the road.Your guess is as good as mine as to why whenever I drive a D-Max ute I get treated with so much respect despite probably doing things that’d get me honked at in other cars. Honestly, all utes command respect, patience and better treatment from other motorists, but maybe it’s the less glitzy and more down to earth rural appeal of the D-Max that makes it one of the best cars to drive if you want others to cut you a bit more slack.On the flip side its ute drivers I find to be the most aggressive out there — this is all anecdotal of course, but I’m sure there are many out there who will back me up. So perhaps a wariness of utes drivers and not a respect for hardworking tradies is why they’re treated better.Perhaps it's because police forces all over Australia use the Kia Sorento to chase baddies or it could be that this large SUV just looks tough. Whatever the reason, if you want other drivers to let you merge into their lane this is your car.The Sorento is large and pretty menacing looking from the front and back. But then so too are lots of SUVs, but what I think what wins over other drivers is the Kia badge. It's a brand that’s established itself at a grass roots level in Australian sport and community. It’s more aspirational than Toyota, but still not pretentious.I should point out that Toyota Klugers also command respect, so too do other large SUVs, like the Mazda CX-90 and the Ford Everest.  The Volkswagen Multivan looks like a toaster, only five metres long and two metres tall. And while the sheer size of it makes other road users think twice about cutting one off in traffic, it's more than that. I think it's actually connected to the iconic Kombi van and the good feelings that van conjures. You know we grow up excited to see Kombis as kids, which still hits us with a sense of “awww” even now as adults when we see a van with a VW badge. The good treatment isn’t restricted to Volkswagen Multivans, all vans are treated incredibly well despite many of them carrying out manoeuvres that defy logic, like double parking, spontaneous U-turns and driving slow while searching for an address. And that’s because we know most vans are delivery trucks on a mission and the bad driving is not down to incompetence … most of the time.I’ve picked the Porsche 911 mainly because it’s one of the cars I’ve received the worst treatment in continually but I’ve found this goes for any high-end sports car.Perhaps it’s the sight of an expensive sports car that brings out some jealousy in other drivers but I’ve never been tailgated more by other drivers than when in an expensive sports car. As for being let into traffic — that’s also a problem.This behaviour, like all road rage, is dangerous and does nothing more than reduce safety and cause stress, unnecessarily.The Suzuki Swift is great in many ways — just not how some people treat you when you’re driving it. This seems to be a problem with most small cars and I can’t help but think that there are some drivers who assume the person in the Swift is young and inexperienced. Yep there is definitely some kind of automotive pecking order out there on the road and I can be in a ute I’m testing and then move into a small car and suddenly be honked for not moving the instant a traffic light turns green.If other motorists are ‘punching down’ on young drivers then this is a huge concern that could put the inexperienced under too much pressure and lead to a life-threatening mistake.Car reviewers joke that the answer to, “what car should I buy?”, is always “Toyota Camry’ because the value for money, reliability and comfort equation is almost impossible to match. But when behind the wheel of a Camry I’ve found I’m treated in much the same way as a small car, with other drivers seemingly becoming impatient and wanting to overtake rather than sit behind me.I can only speculate as to the reason but perhaps other drivers might think Camry drivers are older and in less of a hurry, or maybe that the person behind the wheel is a rideshare driver that could stop suddenly to let a fare out.Whatever the reason, road ragers should beware that  Australia’s police forces use unmarked Camrys and so the next one you bully, could land you a ticket.   

After having lived with the Toyota GR Yaris GTS for the past week and watched it eat its weight in petrol, strain my neighbours patience with its loud noises and grumble at me for trying to make it accelerate when it wasn’t ready, I’ve made up my mind — cars with combustion engines will always be more fun to drive than electric vehicles.For all their smooth driving, fast accelerating and zero tailpipe emissions, electric cars aren’t engaging to pilot and that’s because almost all the technology disconnects us so much from what’s actually happening.Don’t get me wrong, I think electric vehicles make great sedans that can ferry people around effortlessly and serenely. And EVs are superb small cars doing daily commutes in traffic, and for little delivery trucks and vans. Basically EVs are great for any kind of driving where those onboard would rather be anywhere else than driving.And so the GR Yaris is exactly the wrong car for these kinds of people, because it's the type of vehicle that’s constantly letting you know you’re driving, but it’s shouting it an inch away from you face, “YOU’RE DRIVING A CAR!”.The GR Yaris is basically a homologation car for Toyota to compete in the World Rally Championship and is vastly different from a regular Yaris with a 221kW/400Nm 1.6-litre three-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive.Made using forged carbon and aluminium the GR Yaris weighs only 1300kg and can launch itself from 0-100km.h in 5.1 seconds.And yes I know a Tesla Model 3 Performance has 343kW and can get from 0-100km/h in 3.1 seconds. But have you driven a Tesla?  Yes, it has strong acceleration but so does a tram. And so the experience feels nothing more than commuting, even if it's rapid.The GR Yaris is not as quick, but the experience of getting to 100km/h is filled with so much noise and feeling. The car breathes in air, mixes it with petrol in tiny rooms and sets fire to it causing an explosion powerful enough to eventually turn the wheels, all the while breathing out the used air and gases.So, combustion cars are alive, in a way. They have personality. And I think that’s part of our strong connection to them. Sports cars even more so, because these are designed to optimise handling and agility, often with manual gear boxes, which make the driver even more central to the driving.But EV’s acceleration is great, right? And it's exhilarating isn't it? Yes the acceleration is good and we’re seeing outrageous power outputs of up to 850kW in family cars. But the novelty of accelerating quickly wears off.Most EVs have impressive acceleration because motors produce high power and torque and send it directly to the wheels, and it’s done instantly from zero revs. It’s brilliantly simple, with hardly any parts and it makes sense that cars should be electric.But it’s not very fun and that’s the point of this. And I find hybrids much the same in their mundanity, but to a lesser degree.Combustion engines are complicated, dirty, noisy, inefficient and have lots of parts. They made sense a hundred years ago, but if somebody only invented the combustion engine in 2026 there’s no way it would be approved for use.Still this past week I’ve had two test cars in my driveway — the GR Yaris and a Chery Tiggo 8 plug-in hybrid. Which do you think I picked every time I needed to go anywhere, even somewhere five minutes away like the supermarket and to do the school run? The GR Yaris of course.It’s harder to drive than the petrol-electric Tiggo 8, but every journey in it is fun and engaging.I’ve even felt sorry for the Tiggo 8. When it detects its key coming within range in my handbag it unlocks its doors and switches its headlights on, but I walk right past it to the GR Yaris and leave in that.Sometimes I look back at the Tiggo 8 as I pull out of the driveway and see it shutting back down again, switching off its lights and locking its doors when it realises it's not needed this time.Today I needed to return the GR Yaris — the test was over. And I’ll be in the Tiggo 8 again.I can see a need to switch the cars that most of us drive to electric, and I used to worry that combustion cars would disappear quickly. But I don't think that’s going to happen. Sports cars will I think be offered in combustion form for decades more because the makers and buyers know the fun to be had. If anything EVs will make us appreciate combustion cars even more.

The already angry looking Toyota GR Yaris GTS race car for the road has been given an Aero Performance package that not only makes it more dynamic but it now looks downright furious.

BYD has given its fully-electric Atto 3 small SUV a massive overhaul with a larger battery, faster charging, more power and a switch from front- to rear-wheel drive.There is a catch - this Atto 3 is only available in the United Kingdom, for now. But the good news is with the UK being a right-hand drive market, it's very likely the same vehicle will be sold in Australia, possibly soon.The overhaul is much needed for the Atto3 which was BYD’s first vehicle to go on sale in Australia when the brand arrived here in 2022.Until now the UK and Australia have had the same Atto 3 - a front-wheel drive-only SUV with a single 150kW motor, and a driving range of up to 480km (WLTP) from the larger 60.48kWh battery variant. But the new Atto 3 in the UK - dubbed the Evo - has been hugely improved.For starters battery capacity has been upped to 74.8kWh for a range of up to 510km and its electrical architecture beefed up from 400V to 800V allowing 220kW fast charging and 10-80 per cent refilling in 25 minutes.Another welcome change is the switch from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive with a more powerful 227kW motor improving 0-100km/h acceleration time from 7.3 to 5.5 seconds. A two-motor all-wheel drive variant with 325kW is also available in the UK. The bump in grunt takes the Atto 3 into seriously quick hot hatch territory, outgunning rivals such as the Kia EV3, Geely EX5 and MG S5.The new configuration also allowed BYD to make changes to the Atto 3’s multi-link rear suspension for better handling, upgrading it from a four- to five-link arrangement.The new BYD Atto 3 in the UK now has a bigger 490-litre boot - up 50 litres and it's scored a 101-litre front boot. Interior changes include the repositioning of the Atto 3’s gear selector from the centre console to the steering column.CarsGuide has contacted BYD Australia to ascertain if and when the updated Atto 3 will come to Australia.Since the Atto 3’s local launch in 2022 BYD has rapidly rolled out nine more models including the Shark 6 ute and Sealion 7 large SUV, those two by far the most popular in the brand's range.  

Toyota’s ultra luxury brand Century will build its new Century Coupe with a Rolls-Royce and Bentley chasing twin-turbo V12 hybrid engine in 2027, according to reports.Late last year Toyota announced its lavish Century brand would become a standalone entity, highlighted by the debut of the Coupe x Chauffeur-driven concept at the Japan Mobility Show in December. Now reports suggest the Century Coupe is headed for production and will arrive within 12 months boasting massive horsepower.Japan’s Mag X publication is reporting that Toyota’s plans to use a V8 in the Century Coupe have been pushed aside in favour of a 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 petrol electric plug-in hybrid system with 600kW.How that V12 will be sourced is uncertain. Toyota doesn’t have that engine in its line-up. Some outlets speculate Toyota may achieve 12-cylinder power using two inline BMW six-cylinder engines thanks to the joint venture between the companies, but that’s almost certainly not going to happen.Toyota’s Century brand is a source of national pride, and the super luxurious vehicles have been used by Japan’s royalty and prime ministers since 1967. Given this, it’s entirely likely Toyota will build its own V12 rather than source it through a third party. The last time Toyota built a V12 was for Century in the 1990s, and given the resurgence of the brand it seems fitting that it'll do this again.Expect a few tweaks before the Century Coupe concept becomes a reality. While it's sleek and stylish, the vehicle’s three-seater chauffeur set-up might not be so practical. The split opening sliding door, while impressive, may also be swapped for traditional hinged doors for production.Pricing for the Century Coupe is expected to be close to $400,000, positioning it close to the Bentley Continental GT.The Century line-up also includes a large SUV that rivals Bentley’s Bentayga.

BYD has added a fully electric variant to its Ti7 large SUV range ahead of the model’s potential arrival in Australia.Sold in China under BYD’s off-road focused Fang Cheng Bao brand the Ti7 is likely to wear a Denza badge if and when it arrives in Australia. Until now the Toyota LandCruiser Prado sized Ti7 has been available as plug-in hybrid only.The electric Ti7 will be offered in two layouts: a rear-wheel drive with a single motor making 300kW variant and an all-wheel drive with dual motors producing 515kW version. Neither the battery capacity nor range has been announced yet.The current Ti7 line-up is PHEV-only and has a 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine teamed up with one electric motor in the FWD variant and adds a rear motor in the AWD.The Ti7 has similar dimensions to the Prado at 4999mm long, 1995mm tall and 1865mm wide, but looks more like a Land Rover Defender with its long, high bonnet, tall windows and blocky stature. The Ti7 is a large SUV, but it's understood the cabin has two rows for five seats only.BYD has already brought other models from its Fang Cheng Bao range to Australia including the B5 and B8 rugged SUVS.Both PHEVs, the B5 starts at $74,990 while the B8 has an entry price of $91,000.The B5 is approximately 4900mm long while the B8 stretches almost 5200mm in length.The Ti7 has a similar interior to both the B5 and B8, and in its home market comes with an array of luxury standard and optional features including a 15.6-inch media screen, a  26-inch head up display, plus 13-inch seat back tablets in the second row. There’s also a 20-speaker sound system, 4.5-litre fridge and even a roof-mounted drone.Cargo space looks excellent with a boot that BYD says has a capacity of 1000 litres.Denza has yet to confirm if the Ti7 will come to Australia.

Electric vehicles are so powerful now that they have more horsepower than Formula 1 racecars. Why do they have so much power? How is this even legal? And where do I sign up? High-powered cars used to either be the exotic with owners who had paid big dollars for big output or the affordable modified ones nurtured by enthusiasts handy with spanners. Both groups have copped their fair share of noise from both politicians, regulators and the community for possessing their overpowered beasts.In the past five years Australia has been inundated with electric cars with horsepower so huge that it makes the output of even the most exotic or modified car seem cute. Yet they haven’t been met with the same backlash received by their loud combustion cousins.You can probably blame Tesla for setting the power standard so high that it became the selling point for almost all electric vehicles. Tesla found the way to sell electric cars was to make them quick and sexy. If you paid more you could unlock software that made your Tesla faster — they named it Ludicrous mode and Plaid mode. So you could have a ridiculously fast car now without the super car price or the mechanical desire to do it yourself.Tesla’s Model 3 Performance has 461kW and a 0-100km/h time of 3.1 seconds. And it’s a regular car you’d walk past in a supermarket car park without even noticing.Other brands paid close attention and copied, and now family favourite brands have their own super powered EVs.Kia’s EV6 GT has 485kW and has a 0-100km/h time of 3.5 seconds, Hyundai has the 478kW Ioniq 5 N and can reach 100km/h in 3.4 seconds. Newer brands are pushing those limits even further with the coming Polestar 5 four door sedan packing 650kW.And these aren’t even really considered high performance or exotic by EV standards.Just to put that in perspective the most powerful HSV GTS with a 6.2-litre supercharged V8 made 430kW when Holden stopped manufacturing in Australia 10 years ago.If you want exotic or high performance in an EV then look no further than Porsche’s Cayenne Turbo Electric, a large luxury family SUV with 850kW. If that means nothing to you, then look at it this way, Formula 1 cars in the 2026 Championship produce 750kW.So why do electric cars have so much power? It’s easy for electric motors to produce enormous power and torque compared to petrol and diesel counterparts. In its simplest terms a motor consists of a magnetic field within a cylinder that contains a rotor, which when supplied with an electric current spins creating mechanical energy.You can place an electric motor on a car’s axle and the drive is direct and acceleration instantaneous because there’s no gearing required as revs increase. Think of an electric drill, you pull the trigger and its spinning instantly. Same with the motor in an electric car, and that’s why acceleration can be so rapid in even a garden variety model.This segues us to electric hypercars with outputs that are almost unfathomable. Yangwang is BYD’s high-performance luxury brand and its U9 has four electric motors each making 550kW, which gives the thing a 0-100km/h time of less than 2.4 seconds. That’s painfully quick, I mean it takes 2.4 seconds to read this sentence.And at 100km/h you are covering 28 metres per second — a basketball court a second.So how is this even legal? Well currently in Australia there are no restrictions on the power output of a vehicle, just restrictions on who can drive them, as in those on their P-plates. New drivers are restricted to vehicles that don’t exceed a power-to-weight ratio.And that raises a good point about power-to-weight ratios because EVs are heavy due to their dense batteries and that’s also another reason why the higher output is required. Still with how easy it is for a motor to make big power, overcoming the weight is easy.But that weight does cause problems when it comes to dynamic ability, and while many regular EVs have high outputs, their handling is affected. The car may be small, but it has the weight of a large SUV.So while I love the quick acceleration unless it’s a high performance EV such as the Cayenne it’s only going to be fun in a straight line and I’m here for it although that novelty wears off quicker than the new car smell.There are benefits to good acceleration that don’t involve showing off. Being able to move quickly and decisively can be good for intersections without traffic lights, merging on motorways and overtaking, all without breaking the speed limit of course. The all-wheel drive offered by dual motor EVs often mean excellent traction for even more stability.That said, being able to move quickly doesn't leave much time to make decisions such as a braking to avoid a collision with the car in front or stopping for a pedestrian that's stepped out onto the road.Until now the ever increasing power of EVs feels like it's gone unnoticed, but it's not hard to imagine a time in the future when regulators put limits on how much power an EV can make. And that, probably a very good thing.

The large SUV category (starting under $100K) in the 2026 CarsGuide Car of the Year awards brings together one of the most varied groups of models from the super modern, fully electric high-performance to the super capable, off-road beasts. But all have a family focus with practicality at an affordable price.Our shortlist saw entrants from Chery, Hyundai, Kia, Land Rover, Polestar, Skoda, Toyota and Volkswagen.Now it’s time to announce our final top three, including the winner. First up are the two runners up in alphabetical order, then the category winner.Seven-seat upper-large SUVs aren’t unique but fully electric ones are and the Kia EV9 was not just the first of its kind to come to Australia, but it is also a truly outstanding car and that’s why it has easily made it into our top three.CarsGuide reviewers love how the EV9 provides all the practicality and space that an upper-large SUV should with an advanced electric architecture and a package that feels high quality and stylish.“I think it’s one of the cars of the decade,” said CarsGuide Contributing Journalist Byron Mathioudakis.“I still look at it and it stuns me and I just think it’s beautifully packaged … it’s a Range Rover for Kia money. Korea should be so proud of that car.” While the EV9’s futuristic looks were loved by the team, some thought the high price might put people off. The Toyota LandCruiser helped spark the world’s fascination with SUVs decades ago with its ability to take families on adventures to places regular cars had no hope of ever reaching. But while there’s a multitude of other SUVs out there now, the latest-gen LandCruiser 300 Series is still one of the very best, which is why it’s here on our top-three list.    CarsGuide News Editor Dom Tripolone said the LandCruiser 300 was one of the vehicles that did its job well: “It does what it says on the box. It’ll last a long time.”The team mentioned the good resale value of the LC300, its reputation for reliability and that its intended buyer who wants to go off-road or go anywhere will absolutely love it.Hyundai’s new-gen Santa Fe shocked many with its wildly different look to the previous model when it arrived in late 2024.But, while the design was polarising, CarsGuide reviewers couldn’t deny that this was an outstanding SUV in almost every other way.  “It genuinely achieves everything it sets out to do,” said CarsGuide Deputy News Editor Tom White. “I also love the design of it – it’s superb.”With a choice of hybrid and petrol powertrains in both front- and all-wheel drive, the Santa Fe is comfortable and easy to pilot in the city or on long haul trips. Available in six- and seven-seat formats, the Santa Fe caters impressively well for families with its practicality and space, plus with its extensive features list and affordable entry price represents excellent value for money.

It’s happening. The first electric vehicles with 1000km of driving range are starting to hatch.What seemed like an out-of-reach fantasy just a few years ago has become reality with auto manufacturers now beginning to launch their next-gen EVs which can out-drive the range of combustion cars. So which brands are doing it and how far can these electric long haulers really go? In January, Chinese carmaker Chery announced that this year it would launch the Exeed Liefeng - one of the world’s first production models with a solid state battery - which would give the electric vehicle a range of 1500km.Solid state has long been the holy grail form of batteries and for the past five years car manufacturers have been on a crusade to find how to cost-effectively use the technology on a large scale for EVs. Chery appears to be one of the first to make it there, but you can bet the rest will follow quickly. Currently the longest-hauling electric vehicles in Australia are the Polestar 3 Long Range Single Motor with its 706km range and Tesla’s Model 3 Long Range AWD with 629km. Both use the tried-and-tested lithium ion batteries which have been the go-to for the industry for decades but it appears the limits are being reached.China’s rising star brand Xiaomi is even pushing the lithium ion limits further however, announcing this week that it was taking orders for its new SU7 sedan with a 902km (CLTC) range. While the SU7 uses an 101.7kWh lithium ion battery, the vehicle's new silicon carbide platform in 752V and 897V forms, as well as its aerodynamic performance, has returned improved efficiency.  CLTC is the China Light Duty Vehicle Test Cycle which isn’t as strict as the Worldwide Harmonised Light Duty Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). So 902km equates to about 750km in the real-world.The 1500km range of Chery’s  Exeed Liefeng is likely to be calculated using the CLTC criteria, too, but that is still equal to 1230km WLPT and that’s beyond remarkable, even compared to combustion engines.The distance you can drive on a full tank of petrol depends on the kind of engine you have, the size of the fuel tank, and the type of driving you do.It’s pretty obvious but big engines use more fuel, so do high-performance engines which prioritise output, and stop-start traffic on urban roads uses more than fast moving motorways. New engines are super fuel efficient these days compared to what they were 20 or even 10 years ago and hybridisation with electric motors in all their forms can significantly reduce fuel consumption. In my own testing, large mid-sized SUVs with four-cylinder petrol engines get no more than about 700km from a 60L tank, with the average being about 500km with the mainly urban driving I do. So some electric vehicles you can buy right now have the same range as the equivalent petrol cars. The benefit of petrol though is clearly the speed at which you can refuel and the accessibility with up to 8000 service stations each with multiple pumps in Australia.Charging times have improved greatly but 30 minutes is about average to charge from 10-80 percent with a 150kW DC charger. In Australia there are only about 550 chargers capable of 100kW or more.Solid state batteries not only offer great ranges but super quick charging - 10-80 per cent in about five minutes. It's still slower than filling a 60L tank with petrol, but not much slower.What about hybrids? Hybrids add a lot more range, especially the new generation of "super hybrids" which are the plug-in kind equipped with larger batteries and clever management systems which can do what was unthinkable a few years ago.My current long-term test car is a Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid which has a 18.4kWh battery and a 60-litre petrol tank. A 1.5-litre four cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor drive the front wheels.According to Chery the combined range of the Tiggo Super Hybrid is 1200km with fuel consumption as low as 1.3L/100km.In my first month with the Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid I drove 869km before I needed to refuel, but I did charge it during that time, occasionally. Still, that’s outstanding. If I was to charge it regularly then the 1200km seems absolutely attainable. But regularly means every two to three days, otherwise fuel consumption increases dramatically. That’s inconvenient to say the least if you don’t have a home wall unit.It seems inevitable electric will take the place of petrol and solid state batteries will mean 1000km from a full charge. Ultimately this could mean petrol becomes the new source of range anxiety, as service stations swap fuel pumps for chargers, making 500km on a single tank seem concerning.Before you hop in the comments, understand I’m by no means an EV fan girl. I love the drama that comes with petrol. My own car has a 5.8-litre V8 that I rebuilt myself.However, I truly think most people don’t care what powers their car and if solid state batteries only take a few minutes to charge and you only need to do it once a month then petrol is a goner.