Better by the dozen

Though I put together this site with drivers in the 45+ age bracket in mind, this news bridges all demographics: young or old, male or female, financially successful or just scraping by. Wherever you fit into the picture, if you're contemplating a new car purchase then the following might make your decision come a little easier.

You see, the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) today announced the category winners from its recent Canadian Car of the Year TestFest event, in which 80 of this country's leading auto writers pored over every detail of almost 174 new 2014 model year vehicles in 12 categories over an intensive five days of comparative testing. Every detail, from safety features to cargo capacity and everything else you can think of, was thoroughly scrutinized and individually rated by secret ballot.

Credit: Michell Siu for AJAC.     The TestFest program is unmatched for its thoroughness and credibility.

Twelve "Best New" category winers emerged from the run-off once the journalists' evaluations were tabulated.

Mazda was this year's big winner, garnering a perfect three for three "Best New" nods. With two wins in the Best New Small Car categories (under $21,000 and over $21,000), the Mazda3 in various forms has earned nine trophies since it was introduced (that year it was declared Best New Economy Car and Best New Sport Coupe, then going on to win overall Car of the Year honours).

The 2014 Mazda6 also grabbed the gold in the Best New Family Car (over $30,000) category. It's also a multiple winner, having taken Best New category titles several times since its introductory year in 2004.

(Eric Novak, Modern Media Perspectives)      Sandra Lemaitre, Mazda Canada with awards and winning cars.     

All three Mazda wins came against stiff competition. Among its rivals in Best New Small Car (under $21,000 were) Toyota's Corolla 1.8, the Nissan Versa Note and Mitsubishi's Mirage. In the Small Car (over $21,000) group the winning Mazda3 Sport outpointed Chevrolet's Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel, the Fiesta ST from Ford and the Kia Forte sedan.
The Mazda6 may have had an even tougher fight on its hands, coming out ahead of the Chevrolet Impala LTZ, Ford CMAX Energi, Honda Accord Hybrid nd Volkswagen Jetta Turbocharged Hybrid.

GM took two category titles. The Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was crowned as Best New Sports/Performance car and the GMC Sierra was named Best New Pickup over its Chevrolet Silverado corporate sibling and the Dodge Ram 1500.

Jeep Cherokee, Best New SUV/CUV (under $30,000).

Other winners included: Kia Soul as Best New Family Car (under $30,000), Jeep Cherokee (Best New SUV/CUV (under $35,000 and the Kia Sorento as Best New SUV/CUV ($35,000 to $60,000). The Acura MDX triumphed as Best New SUV/CUV (over $60,000) while the Lexus IS 350, Infiniti Q50 Hybrid and Mercedes-Benz S Class took top honours in their luxury and prestige car categories.

This desirable dozen now go on to compete for the top honour of being either the 2014 Canadian Car of the Year or 2014 Utility Vehicle of the Year. The overall winners will be revealed February 13, 2014 at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto.