2016 Canadian Car of the Year category winners

TORONTO—Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) has announced nine category winners in it’s 2016 Canadian Car of the Year awards program.

The nine “Best New” categories cover the full new-model spectrum, including Best New Small Car, Best New Sports/Performance, and Best New SUV/CUV. Most of these core categories are further divided into price ranges to better provide fair and relevant comparisons.

The results were tabulated by accounting firm KPMG.

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 in February 2016. AJAC will also announce the winners of its Canadian Green Car of the Year awards at the Vancouver International Auto Show in March 2016.

The category winners represent the voting results by the largest group of Canada’s top automotive journalists, who gathered this October in Clarington, Ont. 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 Shell Canada was the official fuel supplier.

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, 71 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.

The list of 2016 “best new” category winners includes:

SMALL CAR
Honda Civic

FAMILY CAR
Volkswagen Golf Sportwagen 1.8TSI

SPORTS / PERFORMANCE under $50K
Volkswagen Golf R

SPORTS / PERFORMANCE over $50K
Mercedes-Benz AMG C-Class (C 63 S)

PRESTIGE / PERFORMANCE
Mercedes Benz AMG GT (S Coupe)

PICKUP
Chevrolet Silverado

SUV / CUV under $35K
Mazda CX-3

SUV / CUV $35K – $60K
Kia Sorento

SUV / CUV over $60K
Volvo XC90