For most people, buying or leasing a brand new vehicle is likely the second largest purchase you might make. And if you prefer the latest and greatest in technology and engineering innovation combined with style, you might do this on a reasonably regular basis.
Buying a vehicle whether it’s a truck, sedan, SUV, or CUV is pretty subjective.
You might pay attention to reviews you see: your opinion might be swayed by a commercial on television or, your neighbour or colleague has regaled you with their “expertise” and recommendations.
What if you were able to listen to and see what a large group of professional automotive writers have to say? Would their thoughts and opinions possibly encourage you to look at one car over another?
Recently, eight “Best New” category winners were announced by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada, better known as AJAC. The results were tabulated by KPMG, the accounting firm that works with the association and its annual Canadian Car of the Year award’s committee.
The vehicles named will now compete for the overall Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year honours, which will be announced at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto February 16, 2017.
The category winners represent the voting results by the largest group of Canada’s best-known automotive journalists, who gathered this October in Clarington, Ontario for a four-day test-drive evaluation of brand-new or significantly changed models. The event, known as “TestFest,” was hosted by Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, and welcomed Michelin, BF Goodrich, Canadian Black Book, and the Steel Market Development Institute as partners.
“TestFest is the most intensive new-vehicle evaluation process out there,” said Gary Grant, co-chair of the Canadian Car of the Year committee. “No other organization employs such stringent testing methods to determine its award winners.”
The rigorous testing program includes real-world driving on public roads, exactly where consumers drive, so the test data and vote results are directly relevant to potential car and utility vehicle buyers. The results are not based on the personal opinion of just one or two journalists. Instead, more than 60 respected automotive journalists each drove vehicles in their categories back-to-back on the same day, under the same conditions, to ensure fair and objective comparisons. Using a detailed rating form, comprising 21 separate evaluation parameters that include acceleration, braking, vehicle dynamics, maneuverability, even off-road capability, where applicable, each parameter is rated using a prescribed 0–10 rating scale.
Every detail, from safety features to cargo capacity, is thoroughly scrutinized, discussed, and individually rated by secret ballot.
“This unique program is absolutely testing-based,” said Justin Pritchard, co-chair of the Canadian Car of the Year committee. “We have dozens of experienced vehicle testers driving dozens of vehicles, back to back, over the course of several days. This testing process generated 1,384 test drives, producing over 100,000 data points and 1,058 category ballots. It’s important to note that every aspect of this testing data is shared online via our website, http://www.ajac.ca so shoppers can see how any given vehicle won its category, or how it stacked up to the category winner.”
Epoch Times had an opportunity to ask Senior Executives from the winning OEMs for their thoughts on being declared category winners by professional reviewers from across Canada.
BEST NEW SMALL CAR & BEST NEW SPORTS / PERFORMANCE CAR
Hyundai Elantra, (best new small car) with 682 points, and scoring highest in Value.
Hyundai Elantra (Sport), (best new sports/performance car) with 682 points, and scoring highest in Occupant Environment and Ride Dynamics.
