Below you will find a full list of vehicles which recently competed for the Canadian Car of the Year Awards, together with the results. However, before we get to that, I’d like to take this opportunity to explain a little on how this takes place, and perhaps more importantly, why. 

There are probably very few Canadian’s who haven’t heard of the Canadian Car of the Year Awards (CCOTY). After all, the automobile manufacturers fortunate enough to win such an accolade aren’t exactly shy about announcing this to all and sundry, and there’s a very good reason for that. You see, the awards program, now in its 23rd year, is renowned, not only here in Canada, but around the world for being one of the most trusted automotive awards program in existence.

Originally created by members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), these awards were not only designed to bring recognition to the manufacturers but also to provide consumers with reliable, comparative information on vehicles new to the Canadian market.

Now that’s obviously a good idea. After all, with a host of brand new models appearing each year, along with manufacturers making mid-term alterations to their current line-ups, it would be almost impossible for the consumer to keep up to date with what’s happening in the Canadian automotive world. In fact, by the time anyone had gathered the relevant information on each and every new or considerably altered vehicle, there would be a line up of others to consider and the whole process would need to start all over again. That’s basically why the AJAC awards program came into existence, but how many consumers truly understand the process involved with these awards?

Well, along with being a member of AJAC, I’ve spent the past 3 years on the judging panel for the CCOTY Awards and so I’m going to attempt to give you a little insight into how we come to the conclusions that we do.

Now straight away, I’m going to make one thing very clear. Our panel of approximately 70 experienced automotive journalists don’t simply sit around a large table spouting things like, “I like model X and believe it to be much better than all the others”. Now I know this perhaps sounds a tad obvious but believe me, there are one or two so-called awards programs out there which do actually follow somewhat along those lines. This is not how the process works at the CCOTY. Oh no, to say that our program carries the most stringent guidelines for judging would not be an exaggeration. In fact, that’s precisely why the Canadian Car of the Year Awards are held in such high esteem throughout the automotive industry.

Judging takes place at the annual AJAC Test Fest in Niagara, Ontario and is attended by journalists from all over Canada. Now this doesn’t mean that every member of AJAC gets to vote. Only members who are deemed to be regular new-car reviewers are invited to Test Fest and in fact, even these need to have conducted a certain number of automotive reviews during the course of the previous year in order to be eligible to vote at Test Fest.

Judging takes place over a four day period and each juror is assigned to his/her individual classes prior to the event. Journalists are asked to submit their top 3 category choices in the weeks leading up to the event but at the end of the day, the CCOTY committee decides on who judges which classes. Obviously most members have extensive driving experience and many have taken numerous advanced driving schools during the course of their career. Some even boast of holding Canadian race/rally competition licenses. However, as a certain amount of high-speed testing takes place at Test Fest, certain drivers are preferred for the high-performance evaluation of vehicles. Likewise, if particular journalists possess greater experience in evaluating higher-end models, perhaps because of the publication for which he/she writes, then he/she may be placed in the appropriate category for this reason. For any new members or those without the necessary proven performance driving skills, there is an advanced driving course available prior to the start of the event. In fact, many use this as a refresher course to hone their skills prior to judging and this is just one example of how seriously the members regard the task entrusted to them.

Once the event officially starts, members evaluate all the vehicles in their assigned classes using a detailed rating form, comprised of 21 separate evaluation parameters which include acceleration, braking, vehicle dynamics, manoeuvrability and even off-road capability (where applicable). Each parameter is rated on a 0–10 scale and the members secretly post their findings at the end of each day via the Association’s secure website.

As weather conditions can change from day to day, jurors are required to complete each of their assigned categories on the same day and to utilize the same route on the road course. There are even time requirements for testing and each vehicle is timed out using a computerised bar-code system. All vehicles must be driven for not less than 30 minutes, and not more than 45. Obviously, the track testing portion is the same for every vehicle but it may surprise you to discover that even minivans and like vehicles are put through their paces on the test track. This makes for true back-to-back testing and ensures objective evaluations.

The ballots, once submitted, are then tabulated by the international accounting firm, KPMG, and the results are kept confidential -- even from AJAC -- until the awards press conference wherein the category and overall winners are announced.

Naturally, most of us try to guess the outcome of each category, but in truth, none of us really know the results until the numbers come back from KPMG.

Obviously, all vehicles carry differing prices/fuel economy figures etc, and it would be impossible to evaluate them without having some sort of formula to compensate for such things. Because of this, the program has a rather complicated series of vehicle weighting calculations which are used to balance these types of variables. Now it would take me far too long to go into all that here but what I will say is, with the internationally renowned accounting firm of KPMG on board, you can rest assured that these are fair to all competing vehicles.

At the end of the day, we are fortunate here in Canada to have one of the most reputable automotive awards programs in existence and we should be rightly proud of that fact. We should also try to make good use of these resources when considering the purchase of a new automobile. Now I’m not going to say that these awards should be the be all and end all of your car buying decision, but isn’t it nice to know that you have somewhere to go where the industry professionals have already done a lot of the legwork for you?

To find out more about AJAC and the CCOTY awards program, check out the associations’ website www.ajac.ca

The results:

SMALL CAR (under $21k)

Ford Fiesta (1^st)

Mazda2 (2^nd)

Volkswagen Jetta (3^rd)

Scion xB

Scion xD

I can’t say that I was surprised by the outcome of this class as I already had them in this order in my mind. The Fiesta is a great little car and might even be in the running for Canadian Car of the Year.

SMALL CAR (over $21k)

Chevrolet Cruze (1^st)

Honda CR-Z (2^nd)

Scion tC (3^rd)

Kia Forte 5

Nissan Juke

The Chevrolet Cruze truly deserved to take this class. In fact, if I were a gambling man, I might be putting a little down on it taking Car of the Year.

FAMILY CAR (under $30k)

Volkswagen Jetta TDI Clean Diesel (1^st)

Hyundai Sonata Limited (2^nd)

Suzuki Kizashi (3^rd)

This was a tough class to call. The Sonata is an amazing vehicle and will certainly continue the Hyundai success story. Then again, the Volkswagen Jetta has always been a great vehicle and yet it seems to be getting better and better.

FAMILY CAR (over $30k)

Buick Regal (1^st)

Toyota Avalon (2^nd)

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Wagon (3^rd)

The vehicle from which the 1^st place model is derived has already won numerous awards around the globe so it was hardly a surprise to see it take this one. However, the Toyota is a wonderful family car for the money. That said, if I had to choose one for myself, the local Mercedes-Benz dealer would be getting my custom. The E-Class Wagon simply oozes class, and yet at the same time is so practical.

LUXURY CAR (over $50k

BMW 5 Series Sedan (1^st)

Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTEC Sedan (2^nd)

Volvo S60 (3^rd)

Audi A8

Cadillac CTS Coupe

Hyundai Equus

Infiniti M

Lexus IS350

This was possibly the toughest class to judge of the whole event. The Audi A8 is fantastic with a capital F. Although, since it is nearly twice the price of most of the others, it didn’t stand much of a chance from the offset. I was surprised at how good the Volvo was and I’d actually placed it ahead of the Mercedes. However, I was nothing short of shocked to discover that the new Equus from Hyundai didn’t make it into the winners’ circle. In my opinion, this vehicle could go head-to-head with some costing 20-30k more, and it certainly demonstrates that Hyundai is capable of producing true luxury vehicles.

PRESTIGE (over $75k)

Porsche 911 Turbo S (1^st)

BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo (2^nd)

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (3^rd)

Audi R8 Spyder

Jaguar XJ Supercharged

Imagine trying to choose a winner from the above! Honestly, there wasn’t one which I wouldn’t have gladly given my right arm to have standing in my driveway! However, I guess I’ll sum up my thoughts this way… The best interior should have gone to the Jaguar but its soft suspension seriously let it down on the track. The M-B SLS AMG was the clear winner in the looks department but couldn’t top the super-slick 911 in handling. Perhaps the highest praise, however, should go to the new 5-Series GT from BMW. In a category consisting of mostly super-cars, it speaks volumes for the vehicle to come away with second place.

SPORTS - PERFORMANCE (over $50k)

Cadillac CTS-V Coupe (1^st)

Ford Mustang Shelby (2^nd)

Mercedes-Benz E550 Cabriolet (3^rd)

I called this one wrong and that was purely because I’m a rather lanky six-footer. In order to get comfortable in the Cadillac, I had to place my head slightly to the right and up into the sunroof area. A fantastic car but not built for the likes of me! The Mustang had power and then some, but the handling characteristics of the vehicle didn’t win me over. No, my vote went for the MB E550 because although a tad pricier, after a few years when the hoorah of the others dies down, you’d still be riding around in a very desirable motorcar.

MINIVAN

Toyota Sienna (1^st)

Honda Odyssey (2^nd)

Another close call but I feel that the right result was achieved.

SUV - CUV (under $35k)

Hyundai Tucson (1^st)

Kia Sportage (2^nd)

Mitsubishi RVR (3^rd)

I was somewhat surprised that the Hyundai beat out its Kia stable-mate but at the end of the day it was only by two points, and they all go back to the same awards cabinet anyway.

SUV - CUV ($35k-$50k)

Ford Edge (1^st)

Jeep Grand Cherokee (2^nd)

Toyota Highlander Hybrid (3^rd)

Honda Accord Crosstour

Hyundai Santa Fe

Kia Sorento

Toyota 4Runner

This was one of my assigned groups and I struggled a little with it. The Ford Edge is a fantastic vehicle and could well end up taking Truck of the Year. However, being a tad old-school, I always look at vehicles from the buyer’s point of view rather than a leaser, and because of that, I’d be a little concerned about the amount of high-tech in the vehicle come warranty expiration time. The Toyota Highlander surprised me as I didn’t expect it to be a nice as it was, and I also found this to be true with the Honda. However, if it was my money being spent, I’d go for the new Jeep Cherokee. The company has really stepped up its game with this model and in my mind, it has moved up a class or two.

SUV - CUV (over $50k)

Volkswagen Touareg (1^st)

Lincoln MKX (2^nd)

Porsche Cayenne (3^rd)

Mercedes-Benz R350 BlueTEC

Well, I guessed right on the winner but that’s about as far as I got. The VW Touareg is an amazing vehicle and truly worthy of its 1^st place award. However, I would have placed the Mercedes slightly ahead of the Lincoln, and I would have thought that the price factor would have completely ruled out the Porsche. Of course, if money were no object, I’d plump for the Cayenne. After all, an SUV is a useful vehicle to own, but one which behaves like a 911 on the track would be even better.