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).

The best 'under the radar' cars coming soon

By Stephen Ottley · 04 Feb 2023

We may have only just seen the end of february but it's a safe bet Toyota will lead the sales charts again in 2023, thanks to its range of popular models from the Corolla to the LandCruiser and everything in between.

Read the article

Why Nissan will have an SUV comeback

By Stephen Ottley · 29 Jan 2023

There’s no nice way to say it - 2022 was a bad year for Nissan. The once-popular brand took a slide in the sales race, dropping more than 35 per cent of its total volume and plummeting from seventh in overall sales in 2021 to just 12th in ‘22. But there is good reason for Nissan executives to hope for a turnaround in ‘23, thanks to an almost entirely re-freshed line-up filling its showrooms.

Read the article

Why MG is on-track to grow again in 2023

By Stephen Ottley · 28 Jan 2023

At the start of 2022 we questioned whether MG could retain its place in the top 10 of the sales charts with only three models. We shouldn't have worried. Despite persevering with its original trio - the MG3, ZS and HS - the Chinese-owned brand was able to continue its meteoric rise in the Australian new car market, finishing last year with the seventh most cars sold.

Read the article

Why the past is vital to Porsche's future

By Stephen Ottley · 26 Jan 2023

Porsche has given itself a birthday present, but there’s a lot more to the Vision 357 than just a celebration of the brand’s 75th anniversary of building sports cars. The Vision 357 is the latest concept car from the Style Porsche department, taking inspiration from the brand’s original sports car - the now-iconic 356 - but underpinned by the latest 718 Cayman GT4 RS powertrain.

Read the article

How Genesis is avoiding Infiniti's fate

By Stephen Ottley · 22 Jan 2023

Genesis sold just 1039 cars in 2022 but was one of the biggest winners in a challenging year for the luxury car market in Australia. While Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Lexus and others suffered declining sales as they struggled with a variety of issues, not least of which the on-going global supply chain crisis, Genesis continued its year-on-year growth.

Read the article

Would you buy a car without a steering wheel?

By Stephen Ottley · 22 Jan 2023

It may seem a strange question, but thanks to a growing trend in the car industry the possibility of a world without steering wheels is becoming increasingly likely. For years the domain of concept cars, multiple car makers are now pushing ahead with vehicles that feature alternatives to conventional steering wheels. Tesla is the most famous example, introducing the so-called 'yoke' in 2021 on it

Read the article

The secret formula to Kia's success

By Stephen Ottley · 21 Jan 2023

We wrote at the start of 2022 that it would be a pivotal year for the South Korean brand, testing whether all the work it had done in recent years would pay off in the sales charts. The answer was a resounding yes. Kia became Australia's third best-selling brand in 2022, capping (at least for now) the company's ascendancy from outsider to a key player in the market. As recently as 2017 Kia was on

Read the article

2022 biggest sales winners

By Stephen Ottley · 15 Jan 2023

The numbers have been tallied and the results are in at the conclusion of the 2022 new car sales race. And the biggest winner is… Toyota - who else?

Read the article

The biggest losers from the 2022 sales race

By Stephen Ottley · 14 Jan 2023

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, which keeps track of every new car sold in Australia, described 2022 as an “unusual year” - which is a spectacular understatement.

Read the article

Peugeot Inception concept previews EV future

By Stephen Ottley · 09 Jan 2023

It certainly looks like something out of a Christopher Nolan film set in the future, but Peugeot promises its new Inception Concept previews many technologies that will reach production within the next few years.

Read the article