Articles by Stephen Ottley

Stephen Ottley

Contributing Journalist

Steve has been obsessed with all things automotive for as long as he can remember. Literally, his earliest memory is of a car. Having amassed an enviable Hot Wheels and Matchbox collection as a kid he moved into the world of real cars with an Alfa Romeo Alfasud.

Despite that questionable history he carved a successful career for himself, firstly covering motorsport for Auto Action magazine before eventually moving into the automotive publishing world with CarsGuide in 2008. Since then he's worked for every major outlet, having work published in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Drive.com.au, Street Machine, V8X and F1 Racing.

These days he still loves cars as much as he did as a kid and has an Alfa Romeo Alfasud in the garage (but not the same one as before... that's a long story).

Why Suzuki is ready to go big in 2024

By Stephen Ottley · 04 Jan 2024

Is Suzuki ready to step out of the shadows in 2024?

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These are the most important new cars of 2024

By Stephen Ottley · 03 Jan 2024

We already know what will be the biggest-selling vehicles in 2024. The usual suspects like the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Toyota RAV4. But what about the most important models for each of the biggest brands? The new additions that will either become the next best-seller or represent a new avenue for our biggest carmakers. Here they are.

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The brand looking for big EV growth in '24

By Stephen Ottley · 02 Jan 2024

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have noticed a sharp increase in the number of electric cars on the roads of Australia in 2023. Sales are up nearly 200 per cent and more than 80,000 new examples were sold in the first 11 months of the year (almost as many as hybrid vehicles).

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These are the most exciting new cars in 2024

By Stephen Ottley · 01 Jan 2024

What car are you most excited for in 2024? Each new year brings hotly anticipated new models and this year is no different. Some of the biggest names in the business have something to get your heart racing, either with its performance, its ability to adventure or its technology. We’ve compiled a list of the most exciting incoming new cars for 2024 from Australia’s best-selling brands.

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Why the Mitsubishi Triton is under pressure

By Stephen Ottley · 01 Jan 2024

Can two opposite things be true at the same time? For example, did Mitsubishi have a good sales year in 2023, or was it actually bad? The Japanese brand is on course to finish comfortably inside the Top 10 selling brands in Australia in 2023, which is unquestionably a good result.

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How Lexus turned its sales fortunes around

By Stephen Ottley · 30 Dec 2023

The cold, hard facts of the 2022 sales data were not good for Lexus. The brand’s sales dropped off nearly 25 per cent (23.7 per cent, to be precise) as it struggled to combat the combined challenges of a renewing model range and supply shortages.

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Why 2023 was a nightmare for V8 Supercars

By Stephen Ottley · 25 Dec 2023

Aside from newly crowned champion Brodie Kostecki, there aren’t likely to be too many people that will look back on the 2023 Supercar season with true happiness. Instead of being the exciting start of a new era, this year’s championship turned into a stressful, complicated and, at times, ugly mess of complaints around the new Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang.

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BYD Seal 2024 review: Performance

By Stephen Ottley · 20 Dec 2023

BYD has made a big impact in a small amount of time in the Australian market. The Chinese 'new energy vehicle' brand has sold plenty of its sharply priced Atto 3 SUV and introduced the most affordable EV, the Dolphin hatch.Now comes the Seal, the brand's direct rival to the Tesla Model 3. We test this new electric sedan to see how it measures up.

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Is the Toyota 70 Series worth the price?

By Stephen Ottley · 17 Dec 2023

The Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series is so popular that it has a waiting list so big the Japanese giant has stopped taking orders for the V8-powered off-roader. Despite that, customers are still lining up to spend more than $75,000 on one of these rugged machines - which come in ute, Wagon and Troop Carrier forms.

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Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT 2024 review: snapshot

By Stephen Ottley · 15 Dec 2023

Even when it builds a family-friendly SUV, Porsche still pushes the performance boundary. The Cayenne Turbo GT Coupe is the German brand’s take on the same extreme SUV class as the Lamborghini Urus (the two even share mechanical DNA).

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