Articles by Laura Berry

What is the cheapest new small SUV in Australia? We know, but you should, too, if you’re looking for a little SUV that won’t cost you big dollars.By small, we mean a step up from the very tiny light SUVs such as a Hyundai Venue but not as big as a mid-sized SUV like a Toyota RAV 4.So without any more delay, these are the top 3 most affordable small SUVs in Australia right now.The Chery Tiggo 4 is the most affordable small SUV in Australia at the time of publishing at a driveaway price of $23,990 for the entry grade Urban. And just to stress, drive-away pricing means on-road costs like stamp duty, registration, dealer delivery and compulsory third part are all paid.The Tiggo 4 Urban has been tested by CarsGuide’s reviewers who found it surprisingly spacious, well equipped for the money and also fuel efficient.Drawbacks of the Urban include it not being as good value as other Chery models and it also being not very memorable to drive.Powering the Tiggo 4 Vibe is a 1.5-litre petrol engine in front-wheel drive.Standard features on the Urban include a 10.25-inch media screen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone climate control and cloth seats.There are five seats and a 470 litre boot - measured to the roof.The Tiggo 4 scored the maximum five stars for its ANCAP safety test in 2023. MG has earned its place in Aussie driveways with vehicles that continually improve and the new ZS is a good example of that constant refinement while staying incredibly affordable. In this case the entry-grade ZS Vibe is $25,888 drive-away. CarsGuide reviewers said the ZS in the Vibe grade was spacious, good value, and had a refined and stylish look.A 1.5-litre petrol engine drives the front wheels, but reviewers felt the engine was underpowered.Standard features include a 10.25-inch media screen Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, air-conditioning and fabric seats. There are five seats and a 443-litre boot.ANCAP gave the ZS the maximum five-star rating for safety in 2025.The third most affordable small SUV in Australia is the super popular GWM Haval Jolion in the Premium grade, which wears a list price (not drive-away like the others here) of $26,990.CarsGuide reviewers called out its roominess, good looks and low ownership costs.Despite the name, Premium is the entry grade and standard features include keyless entry, a 10.25-inch touch screen and air-conditioning. Reviewers also said the driving experience was let down by an underwhelming engine and annoying safety alerts.A 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine drives the front wheels.There are five seats on board and the boot is quite small at 337-litres.ANCAP awarded the Jolion the maximum five-star safety rating in 2022.

Two months into the long-term test of the Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid now and I know this car so well it could put me down as a referee next time it applies for a job. So here’s the reference so far, and while this large plug-in hybrid SUV is excellent in many ways there are a couple of personality traits you’d want me to tell you about. In the first instalment last month we discovered what the Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid does best - not use much fuel. We travelled 869km on a single 60-litre petrol tank. That was a record for me in all my time testing vehicles and average fuel consumption worked out to be 6.1L/100km.The catch, as with all plug-in hybrids, is you have to charge it regularly. I found if the charge in the battery fell below 40 per cent the fuel consumption started to climb fast as the engine worked to keep the battery charged and drive the wheels.This month we drove 510 kilometres with half a tank left - I refilled to full and put in 27.7 litres. That works out to be 5.4L/100km. So while I didn’t break any long distance personal bests, I probably would have, had I driven it more. The reason I didn’t drive it further is because in the past week I’ve been testing the Toyota GR Yaris which is so fun to drive I chose it over the Tiggo 8 for every trip we did. And that brings me to the first not-so-great thing about the Tiggo 8 - the way it drives.The Tiggo 8 isn’t bad to drive, it’s just not great, if that makes sense. I will say it’s comfortable but to the point where the suspension is so soft and ‘bouncy’ that there are times when the SUV doesn’t feel as planted as it should be. This is especially noticeable in bends with mid-corner bumps where it can become unsettled. Acceleration can overcome traction, too, causing the tyres to squeal just because you didn’t dab the accelerator with the pressure of a feather. This takes some getting used to but it’s not a deal breaker.The driving position might be a deal breaker for you, though. The driver’s seat is too high, even on the lowest setting. I think this might be to do with the battery under the floor eating into the cabin space.But I think the worst characteristic of the Tiggo 8 is the gear shifter which requires so much force to be placed on the brake pedal when shifting from Drive to Reverse otherwise neutral is engaged. The number of times I’ve been half way through a three-point turn and holding up traffic because I keep rolling back in neutral is beyond a joke.It’s not all bad, I promise. Actually it’s mostly all good - especially the way Tiggo 8 unlocks itself, opens the door handles, switches the LED headlights on and turns the climate control on as it detects the key but before you even reach the car. The reverse goes for when you leave the car - it locks itself automatically. No need to get the key out or even touch the door handle. The boot’s hands-free ‘foot-sweep’ gesture control function also works really well. Even today with my hands full of grocery bags I didn’t have to put them down to open the tailgate.This month the Tiggo 8 has been hauling a variety of cargo from large boxes to grocery shopping. I’ve been impressed constantly by its boot capacity and even the space behind the third row is excellent.  The design of the floating centre console is outstanding with storage underneath and wide open area on top to charge your phone. There’s nothing worse than cars which have hidey holes for phones to charge, making them hard to retrieve.People space is also great and having the option to move the front passenger seat forward from the rear row using controls mounted on the seat is so helpful as a parent trying to get small children into their own seats.Well, that’s it for this month - this next instalment you read will be the last and hopefully I’ll be able to drive enough to get my 869km from a single tank. Acquired: December, 2025Distance travelled this month: 510kmOdometer: 8267kmAverage fuel consumption this month: 5.4L/100km (measured at the pump)

These are the most affordable new hatchbacks in Australia.

Swedish electric carmaker Polestar is on the cusp of a major comeback, the brand’s executives say, with the launch of four new vehicles including a new variant of the popular Polestar 4 with wagon styling and a real back window.Polestar had a good 2025 with global sales up by 34 per cent for a total of 60,119 cars sold. But all is not well financially for Polestar, which still remains unprofitable as the cost of expansion, competition from Chinese carmakers and tariffs make bankruptcy a real and present threat.Polestar now appears to be pushing hard to escape that threat and make it to a profitable place with the launch of new cars including a new-gen Polestar 2, a Polestar 7 small SUV  and new lifted wagon variant of the Polestar 4.The Polestar 4 is the brand’s most popular model worldwide, and in a statement released recently the company says it will now be offered in a wagon-style variant. This correlates to the leaked spy shots posted in January on Chinese social media platform Weibo of a Polestar vehicle with lifted wagon styling.While the vehicle wore camouflage to disguise its shape it was clear it had a rear window, unlike the current Polestar 4 which has no rear window and uses only cameras for visibility.Chinese media is calling it the Polestar 4 Estate and given the wagon bodystyle is still a big seller in Europe, then this variant seems very much targeted towards capturing that market. Polestar says to expect this new variant of the Polestar to launch towards the end of 2026.“Polestar 4 coupé is our current best-seller," Polestar said in a staement."Already by the end of this year, we will launch a new variant of Polestar 4, based on the same great technology. With this car, Polestar will once again set new standards. Sweden is famous for its estate cars, and its SUVs are world-class. We are combining the space of an estate and the versatility of an SUV with the dynamic performance that is Polestar."Also coming in 2026 is the brand’s flagship Polestar 5 which launches in Australia this March. The large four-door grand tourer is a high-performance halo car packing 650kW and 1015Nm putting Porsche’s Taycan directly in its sights.“Polestar 5 is our brand halo car, bringing a new level of performance and luxury to the grand-tourer segment. With incredible handling and a lightweight bonded aluminium platform, the four-door GT has already received fantastic reviews, as part of its launch tour across Europe." the company said.Next will be a new-generation Polestar 2 and going by the teaser image released by the brand appears to be lower slung than the current  model which is slightly raised.“Polestar 2 is the foundation of our brand, with over 190,000 cars sold and an enthusiastic community of customers," Polestar said."Bringing the next generation of this iconic car in record speed, by the start of next year, is very exciting. The car that we became known for will play a key role of our future success."Then in 2028 Polestar says it will launch a model vital to its survival - the Polestar 7  small electric SUV that will join the hugely competitive segment for electric vehicles.“With Polestar 7 we are entering the largest EV segment in Europe, the compact SUV segment, which accounts for approximately one-third of total BEV volumes in 2025. We are convinced that we can offer customers a progressive performance-driven car for a very attractive price point, built in Europe," the brand said.

Audi’s global CEO has reassured employees and fans of the brand that its electric successor to the Audi TT will go ahead.

Electric car brand Nio hit a milestone this week, swapping 146,649 batteries in a single day, highlighting the ease of use and popularity of the new technology which could be the answer to long EV charging times. Battery swapping has been touted as a solution to one of the biggest problems facing electric cars - lengthy charging times. Chinese carmaker Nio has become the latest brand to embrace the tech, seeing it as the future of quickly having EV motorists back on the road with a full battery.Nio’s record happened in China on one of the country's busiest days, February 15, which is the start of the Spring Festival and Lunar New Year holidays.This time of year in China traditionally sees millions of people make their annual pilgrimages home to see families to celebrate, which explains why Nio has seen the huge uptick in battery swaps as people presumably head off on long journeys.Nio’s battery swap achievement follows the brand carrying out its 100 millionth battery swap on February 6 proving the tech has plenty of supporters choosing battery swapping over charging.Battery swapping technology is exactly as it sounds. An empty battery is replaced with a fully charged one. Of course the electric car must be designed to accommodate a replaceable battery, as is the case with some Nio models.Nio has a network of 3700 battery swap stations in China which can remove and replace a battery in three minutes with owners often renting batteries with the opportunity to upgrade to larger capacity units if wanted. Charging a battery on the other hand can take (on average) about 30 minutes using a fast charger.Nio isn’t the only manufacturer that has seen the huge potential and benefits of battery swapping. European auto giant Stellantis invested heavily in trialling battery swapping  before it scrapped much of its EV plans.Nio recently confirmed its plans to launch in Australia in 2026 and bring its Firefly small hatchback to battle the BYD Dolphin, MG4 and Mazda 2.The Firefly doesn’t have battery swap capacity, instead coming with a 42kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate battery delivering a range of up to 330km (WLPT) and a one–80 percent charge time of 29 minutes.Battery swapping in Australia is currently in the very early stages of development and it's unlikely carmakers will bring vehicles here with swappable batteries until sufficient infrastructure is in place to service them.

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.