Articles by Stephen Corby

Stephen Corby
Contributing Journalist

Stephen Corby stumbled into writing about cars after being knocked off the motorcycle he’d been writing about by a mob of angry and malicious kangaroos. Or that’s what he says, anyway. Back in the early 1990s, Stephen was working at The Canberra Times, writing about everything from politics to exciting Canberra night life, but for fun he wrote about motorcycles.

After crashing a bike he’d borrowed, he made up a colourful series of excuses, which got the attention of the motoring editor, who went on to encourage him to write about cars instead. The rest, as they say, is his story.

Reviewing and occasionally poo-pooing cars has taken him around the world and into such unexpected jobs as editing TopGear Australia magazine and then the very venerable Wheels magazine, albeit briefly. When that mag moved to Melbourne and Stephen refused to leave Sydney he became a freelancer, and has stayed that way ever since, which allows him to contribute, happily, to CarsGuide.

Note: The author, Stephen Corby, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics, and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

Which EV charges the fastest? - the top 10 fastest charging EVs in Australia
By Stephen Corby · 05 Jul 2022
The fastest-charging electric car using AC (alternating current) charging is currently a tie between the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-Tron and Audi e-Tron GT. The fastest-charging EV using DC (direct current) charging is a tie between the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. 
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Nissan Qashqai e-Power 2023 review
By Stephen Corby · 01 Jul 2022
Nissan is bringing a whole new kind of hybrid to market with the Qashqai e-Power. It drives like an EV, with a battery and an electric motor turning the wheels, but it gets its power from an internal-combustion engine, and you never have to plug it in. Is this the gateway drug to EVs that Australians have been looking for?
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Are electric cars sustainable?
By Stephen Corby · 15 Jun 2022
When it comes to sustainability in the automotive industry, low or zero-emission cars such as electric vehicles do make a difference in regards to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. When looking at the full life cycle of an EV, they are a  greener option than a petrol-powered car, but harmful emissions are still generated in a variety of ways. 
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Bidirectional charging explained: A guide to V2L, V2G, and V2H technology
By Stephen Corby · 14 Jun 2022
‘Bidirectional charging’ may sound like the kind of thing an electrician will talk to you about in between waffling on about amperes and fuses while you dutifully nod intelligently, like you understand. But the truth is it’s A) actually really quite interesting, and B) something you really should know about if you have even a passing interest in electric vehicles (EVs), or even if you just like us
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Mazda CX-60 to retain customers
By Stephen Corby · 06 May 2022
Mazda’s push into the premium space - with the launch of its new CX-60, built on a game-changing large, rear-drive platform that will utilise straight-six engines - isn’t about stealing sales from the German brands, or Lexus, it’s about stemming the flow of its own customers to those luxury marques.
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Mazda CX-60 2022 review
By Stephen Corby · 06 May 2022
Mazda is moving up in the world with its new CX-60, its first PHEV, which is also its most powerful car, ever. The new SUV is built on a rear-drive platform - although the PHEV we're driving here is AWD - and will use longitudinally mounted engines, with straight-sixes, both petrol and diesel, still to come. If that sounds a bit European to you, then you're not wrong. Mazda is going premium.
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Mazda CX-60 PHEV coming later
By Stephen Corby · 04 May 2022
Mazda’s CX-60 is set to hit local showrooms later this year, but not all its engines will be made available from the get go.
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How many electric cars are there in Australia?
By Stephen Corby · 08 Apr 2022
As of April 2022, there are 30 electric vehicle models available in Australia, including 65 variants, compromising of 28 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and 37 battery electric vehicles (BEVs, or EVs).
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BMW electric cars in Australia: Everything you need to know
By Stephen Corby · 05 Apr 2022
Tesla might carry on like electric vehicles never even existed before it came on the scene like an environmental saviour in a very shiny, futuristic suit, but was it experimenting with all-electric cars about 50 years ago?
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The future of electric cars: When will electric cars take over in Australia?
By Stephen Corby · 05 Apr 2022
If you’re actually one of the few people still wondering ‘Are electric cars the future?’, we’ve got news for you - EVs have already snuck up on us, all ninja-like, with their silent engines and zero-emission tailpipes, to usher in a new age of motoring where “petrol” is just a dirty word.
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