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 safety ratings need to be clearer

By Stephen Ottley · 10 Aug 2022

In June, the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) awarded the Hyundai Palisade a four-star safety rating. Then, in August ANCAP awarded the Hyundai Palisade a five-star safety rating.

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Why the Suzuki Kizashi never stood a chance

By Stephen Ottley · 07 Aug 2022

Something strange is happening with sales of mid-size sedans in Australia - they’re selling.

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Can the Fiat 500e save the Italian brand?

By Stephen Ottley · 07 Aug 2022

Australia is one of the most competitive new car markets in the world, which means not all brands can survive. In recent years we’ve seen the likes of MG and Haval enter (or re-enter) the local scene, while Holden and Chrysler have bowed out.

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How BYD can shake up the electric car market

By Stephen Ottley · 07 Aug 2022

BYD has emerged as a global player on the electric car market, even claiming to have outsold Tesla in the first half of 2022. Now it has its sights set on Australia, with its Atto 3 electric SUV already on sale and deliveries reportedly beginning by the end of August.

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Why the Ford Ranger must be a sales success

By Stephen Ottley · 30 Jul 2022

It's been a good week for Ford Australia, with the highly-anticipated new-generation Ranger finally arriving in showrooms. It received positive critical response and the company has 17,000 pre-orders to fill.

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The chance Toyota's rivals have waited for...

By Stephen Ottley · 24 Jul 2022

It’s the moment Toyota’s rivals have been waiting for - a soft-spot in the Japanese giant’s underbelly.

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Please build this car, Hyundai!

By Stephen Ottley · 23 Jul 2022

The Hyundai N Vision 74 is unquestionably the coolest concept car of 2022 - but also the most unlikely to ever reach production.

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Will India become the key RHD market?

By Stephen Ottley · 23 Jul 2022

When General Motors shut down Holden in 2020, it was clear that one of the biggest factors was the expense and complexity of building right-hand-drive vehicles for a relatively small market.

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What is the smallest car in the world?

By Stephen Ottley · 19 Jul 2022

If your first instinct is to say ‘Mini’ you’d be wrong. How wrong? Precisely 168cm wrong. That’s because while the original Mini hatch was a compact 305cm in length, the world’s smallest car is the Peel P50 which measures just 137cm long.

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Toyota needs more performance

By Stephen Ottley · 17 Jul 2022

Toyota has a performance car problem - popularity.

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