2007 Canadian Car of the Year category winners named by AJAC

The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) held their annual Canadian Car of the Year awards ceremony on November 21, 2006 and named the 2007 Car of the Year winners in each class of vehicle.

Toyota won four of the 13 categories with the Toyota Camry – best new family car $22,000-$30,000, Camry Hybrid – best new family car over $30,000, Rav4 – best new SUV / CUV under $35,000 and the Lexus ES350 – best new luxury car under $50,000. Stephen Beatty, Managing Director at Toyota Canada, stated “Toyota is very happy to accept these awards and on behalf of everyone at Toyota in Canada, I’d like to thank AJAC’s members for these honors”. Mr. Beatty also commented on the significance of the RAV4 win in what was perhaps the most hotly contested segment in the competition and in the marketplace.

Volkswagen Canada and Audi Canada collectively garnered 3 awards for the Volkswagen EOS 2.0T – best new convertible, Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5 – best new small car over $18,000 and the Audi S8 – best new prestige car.

Honda Canada was a double winner with awards for the Honda Fit – best new small car under $18,000 and the Acura RDX – best new SUV / CUV $35,000- $60,000. At last years awards Honda was a four time winner with the introduction of the new Civic and Ridgeline. Sandy Di Felice, Assistant Vice President of Corporate Communication at Honda Canada is pictured accepting the award for the Honda Fit from AJAC Car of the Year Executive, Paul Williams.

BMW Canada won a category in which it found itself competing with another of its own vehicles as the BMW 3 Series Coupe won out over the M Coupe and the Audi RS4 to claim the best new sports / performance car over $50,000.

General Motors claimed the best new pickup award with the Chevrolet Avalanche beating out another GM product the Cadillac Escalade EXT for the award.

Mazda won the best new sports / performance car under $50,000 with the Mazdaspeed3, a performance version of the 2004 AJAC Car of the Year winner, the Mazda 3.

Mercedes-Benz followed up last years win for best new SUV with the ML Class by winning the best new SUV / CUV over $60,000 with the all new GL Class.

All of these latest winners are now eligible to be considered for overall AJAC Canadian Car and Canadian Truck of the Year, which will be announced at the Toronto Auto Show in February.

2007 Canadian Car of the Year Award top 3 Finalists
– winners denoted by asterisk *

Best Small Car (under $18,000)
– Honda FIT LX *
– Hyundai Accent GS Premium
– Nissan Versa Hatchback

Best New Small Car (over $18,000)
– Hyundai Elantra GLS
– Nissan Sentra
– Volkswagen Rabbit 2.5L *

Best New Family Car ($22,000 – $30,000)
– Kia Magentis LX
– Nissan Altima 2.5L
– Toyota Camry LE *

Best New Family Car (over $30,000)
– Saturn Aura Sedan
– Toyota Camry Hybrid *
– Volkswagen Passat Wagon

Best New Luxury Car (under $50,000)
– Infiniti G35X
– Lexus ES 350 *
– Lincoln MKZ

Best New Prestige Car
– Audi S8 *
– Lexus LS 460
– Mercedes-Benz S Class

Best New Convertible
– Audi A4 Cabriolet 2.0T
– Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder
– Volkswagen EOS 2.0T *

Best New Pickup Truck
– Chevrolet Avalanche *
– Ford Sport Trac Limited V8 4×4
– Cadillac Escalade EXT

Best New Sports / Performance Car (under $50,000)
– Acura CSX – Type S
– Mazdaspeed3 *
– Volkswagen GTI 2.0T

Best New Sports / Performance Car (over $50,000)
– Audi RS4
– BMW 3-Series Coupe *
– BMW M Coupe

Best New SUV / CUV (under $35,000)
– Honda CR-V LX AWD
– Mazda CX-7
– Toyota RAV4 – V6 Sport *

Best New SUV / CUV ($35,000 – $60,000)
– Acura RDX Technology Package *
– Suzuki XL7 AWD
– Toyota FJ Cruiser

Best New SUV / CUV (over $60,000)
– Acura MDX Elite
– Audi Q7 4.2 Premium
– Mercedes Benz GL Class *