There are a lot of factors to consider when buying a new vehicle: reliability, fuel efficiency, your budget, and auto insurance rates to name just a few. But how do you know if you’re buying a "good" car—one that you’ll enjoy driving for years to come? If you’re buying a new vehicle, you’re likely going to hold onto it for five to nine years, but chances are you’ll only test drive a few models before buying. For this reason, many buyers, in the course of their research, turn to the people whose job it is to evaluate cars on a regular basis.
Every year, the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) selects the "Best New" vehicles that they feel are best in class in their category. From this list, they then pick the Canadian Car of the Year and the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year.
In the running for this year’s top honours were the following "Best New" category winners:
Category Winner Best City Car Volkswagen e-Golf Best Small Car Mazda3 Best Large Car Honda Accord Best Small Premium Car Jaguar XE Best Large Premium Car Volvo S90 / V90 Best Sports-Performance Car Volkswagen Golf R Best Premium Sports-Performance Car Jaguar F-TYPE Best Convertible Mercedes-Benz SL Best Small Utility Vehicle Mazda CX-5 Best Large Utility Vehicle Mazda CX-9 Best Small Premium Utility Vehicle Range Rover Velar Best Large Premium Utility Vehicle Acura MDX Best Minivan Chrysler Pacifica Best Pickup Truck Ram 1500
The 14 category winners above are not selected based on the personal opinion of just one or two journalists. Instead, the winners are determined based on the votes of almost 100 automotive journalists who, over the course of the last year, assessed and scored the vehicles on factors like performance, features, technology, design, fuel consumption and value for money.
Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year: Winners
To select the winners for Canadian Car of the Year and the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year, a second round of voting takes place that takes into consideration qualities like comfort and convenience. This year, AJAC selected the Honda Accord as its Canadian Car of the Year, while the Chrysler Pacifica claimed top honours for Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year.
"We're thrilled to declare the Honda Accord to be the Canadian Car of the Year for 2018, and the Chrysler Pacifica to be the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year," said AJAC President Mark Richardson. "They're both deserving of being considered the very best vehicles you can buy in 2018."
Shopping for a new car? Shop for insurance too.
Don’t let the cost of auto insurance stop you from buying the car you desire. On average, InsuranceHotline.com shoppers save $450 after shopping their car insurance rates. Make sure you’re not missing out on some savings and shop around for your coverage.
Article updated annually to reflect the most current winners.
