Well, it's all over for another year: Testfest, the annual back-to-back evaluation by members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada to determine category winners, and then the overall Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Truck of the Year champions.
As always, it was both fun and exhausting. There were occasional hiccups and frustrations, but it still amazes me that this whole thing goes as smoothly as it does, given the number of cars, manufacturers and journalists that are attending. Kudos to the team that puts it all together.
Here's how it works: journalists come from across Canada to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, where we're met with rows and rows of eligible vehicles. We're all assigned to various categories. We have to drive all of the entries on the same day, back-to-back, on public roads and then, depending on the vehicle, either on a track, or an off-road course, or both. Then we rate them on a long list of factors, and move on to the next.
At the end of the event, the category winners are announced; you can see what took this year's honors by clicking here. We then have to drive any winners we haven't been in, and rate them again. This will determine the overall winners, which will be announced in February.
So what happened this year? Well, in no particular order, and with no order of importance, here are some of my thoughts:
- The car that most surprised me, as I've mentioned here earlier, was the Porsche Panamera. I think it was the four-door styling that threw me. I simply wasn't expecting it to accelerate or to handle the way it did. It defeated the mighty V10-powered Audi R8, and that's no mean feat.
- I know we're supposed to be stone-faced objective, but I felt really sorry for General Motors. It got shut out in a year that it brought some of the best vehicles it's ever built, and I think part of that is due to the limitations that Testfest can experience. There must be at least three eligible vehicles to form a category, which means that some vehicles don't get to Testfest at all (which is why the superb Ford F-150 SVT Raptor couldn't compete; there weren't any other new qualifying trucks). In other cases, vehicles get moved into categories where they really don't belong. The Buick LaCrosse should have been in Luxury Under $50,000, but since there wasn't anything else to form that category, it got moved into Family Car, where it was trounced by both the Ford Taurus and Fusion Hybrid. Both of those are worthy vehicles, but they're not really in the same segment.
- I also disagreed with a decision that took the BMW Z4 out of competition. It was in the Convertibles category, but BMW brought models equipped with manual transmissions, and the Car of the Year committee felt that put it into a sportscar category. Since BMW couldn't deliver three automatic-equipped cars that day, it was out of the running. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
- One of my categories included the Kia Forte Koup, my first time in the car. Kia certainly has come a long way with its vehicles, especially the interiors. The Koup also impresses with the biggest back seat I think I've ever seen in a two-door: once he manages to squeeze past the front seat, a linebacker would be comfortable back there. But one thing I noticed is that, while the Koup's sweet styling makes it look like a canyon-carving sports performer, it drives like what it is: an inexpensive, entry-level vehicle. It understeers like a snow plow: I took out a whole row of cones on my first trip around the track with it, and I wasn't the only one. Its price falls right into the laps of young, inexperienced drivers: I expect to see more than a few of these firmly wrapped around trees when they take their first hard turn a bit too fast.
- My goodness, Audi makes some sweet cars. I fell head-over-heels in love with both the A5 Cabriolet and the S4. Driving them is like steering a vat of cream. Even the Q7, a vehicle I don't normally like all that much, impressed me once the company stuffed a diesel under the hood. The all-plastic interior doesn't look like an SUV that costs $65,000, but the driving experience sure feels like it. Speaking of diesel, three oil-burners took their categories: the BMW 335d sedan (one of my faves), VW Golf Wagon TDI, and VW Touareg TDI.
- With so many journalists from so many backgrounds, you're bound to get all styles of evaluation. I have a pet peeve about those -- not many, mind you, but there are a few -- who see this merely as a chance for free track time, or who race through the categories with the singular goal of seeing how many they can rack up over three days. You simply can't evaluate vehicles that way. On the other hand, I also love Testfest because it gives me an opportunity to spend a week with my colleagues. Too often we work in a bubble in this job. It's nice to see everyone again.
- There had been a catastrophic fire in Niagara-on-the-Lake earlier in the week, and at least four people were left homeless. The city is always good to us, and so a bucket was passed around for donations. Between the journalists, a matching donation by the Car of the Year association, another by an anonymous donor, and donations from automakers, more than $5,000 was raised in less than 48 hours, which was given directly to the fire department to distribute to the people involved.
- And my final word? I'll sum it up by saying: click here.
