As a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada, or AJAC, I spent last week in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, driving and comparing cars to come up with the Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year winners. It's back-to-back testing, all cars in a category on the same day, on the same routes, in the same conditions.
But since there were some 80 writers testing and voting, there are always some surprises. The overall winners will be announced next February at the Canadian International Auto Show, but the winners of each category were announced at the event.
There were two cars in the new City Car category for electric vehicles, and the Ford Focus EV handily beat the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, even though it was more expensive, primarily because it's far more comfortable and nicer to drive. In the Small Car Under $21,000, the Mazda3 Sedan took the crown over the Chevrolet Spark, Dodge Dart, Kia Rio, Nissan Sentra, and Toyota Prius C. The Dart took fourth place, which surprised me; it's a well-done machine and I thought it would at least crack the top three, if not take the prize.
I judged the Small Car Over $21,000, which was a tough one. I like the Chevrolet Sonic, which was also up against the Ford C-Max Hybrid, Hyundai Elantra GT, Mazda3 Sport, and Volkswagen Beetle, but every time I looked at handling, performance, price, and fuel economy, I had to vote the Mazda3 to the top. But the Hyundai Elantra GT, also a very good little car, took the category.
I also voted in Family Car Under $30,000, and figured the Honda Accord Sedan would take it, as it did. It had some stiff competition in the Chevrolet Malibu Eco, Ford Fusion, Mitsubishi Lancer, and Nissan Altima, but the Accord is simply a genuinely nice car to drive. Honda has really come back with this one.
In Family Car Over $30,000, I pegged the Chevrolet Malibu, but the Ford Fusion Hybrid took it, also winning over the Mercedes-Benz B250 and Toyota Prius Plug-In.
I only drove the winner of the Luxury Car category, but it was the Cadillac ATS, which defeated the Acura ILX, BMW 3 Series, Buick Verano, and Lexus ES350 and GS. A Cadillac? Yes indeed, and my heavens, what a job GM has done on this car.
Likewise, I only drove the winner in Prestige and Performance: the Porsche 911 Carrera S, over the BMW M5, Chevrolet Corvette 427, and Mercedes-Benz SL550. The 911 is wonderful, but y'know, I actually preferred the perfectly-balanced Porsche Boxster to it, which took the top spot in Sports/Performance Over $50,000, defeating the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Ford Shelby Mustang, and Mercedes-Benz SLK55.
I also only drove the winner of Sports/Performance Under $50,000, the Ford Focus ST, which prevailed over the Chevrolet Sonic RS, Fiat Abarth, Honda Accord Coupe, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Hyundai Veloster Turbo, Mini Roadster, Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ, and Volkswagen Golf R. I thought it would be the BRZ, which placed fourth; its sibling FR-S was second, and the Genesis Coupe was third.
I was also assigned to SUV/CUV Under $35,000, another category of close contenders: Chevrolet Trax, Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, Mazda CX-5, and Subaru XV Crosstrek. I thought the CR-V should have taken it, but it finished third behind the Escape and Crosstrek.
The Best New SUV/CUV $35,000-$60,000 wasn't a regular category for me, so I only drove the winner, the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0T, which prevailed over the Acura RDX, Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Escape 2.0L, GMC Terrain Denali, Infiniti JX, Lexus RX350, and Nissan Pathfinder.
So who will take home the hardware in February? I think the three finalists are going to come down to the Honda Accord, Hyundai Elantra GT, and yes, the Cadillac ATS, and I feel that the ultimate prize should go to the Accord. For the two finalists in Utility Vehicle - the Ford Escape and Hyundai Elantra - I wouldn't want to be placing any bets.
And of course, despite all the driving we did and the points we awarded, it all comes down to using these ratings as a guide ... and buying the car that's right for you, not necessarily the one we pick. Read this to find out why.
