At the Toronto Auto Show, the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada chose the Volkswagen Golf GTI was chosen as car of the year. The a The full list of winners is below:
CANADIAN CAR OF THE YEAR Volkswagen Golf GTI
CANADIAN UTILITY VEHICLE OF THE YEAR Subaru Outback
Best New Small Car (under $21,000) Mazda3
Best New Small Car (over $21,000) Mazda3 Sport
Best New Family Car (under $30,000) Volkswagen Golf Wagon TDI
Best New Family Car (over $30,000) Ford Taurus
Best New Luxury Car (over $50,000) BMW 335d Sedan
Best New Prestige Car Porsche Panamera
Best New Sports / Performance Car (under $50,000) Volkswagen Golf GTI
Best New Sports / Performance Car (over $50,000) Audi S4
Best New Convertible Audi S5 Cabriolet
Best New SUV / CUV (under $35,000) Subaru Outback
Best New SUV / CUV ($35,000 – $60,000) Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel
The winners in each division of the Car of the Year awards were announced today. Out of this list, the overall Car and Truck of the Year will be announced at the Toronto Auto Show.
The Ford Taurus is the only domestic nameplate that won a category. The VW group owns VW, Audi and Porsche and took six categories including both performance car categories. Interesting to note that all six VW winners feature engines with direct injection and forced induction.
Small Car Under $21,000: Mazda3
Small Car Over $21,000: Mazda3 Sport
Family Car Under $30,000: Volkswagen Golf Wagon TDI
Family Car Over $30,000: Ford Taurus
Luxury Car Over $50,000: BMW 335d Sedan
Prestige Over $75,000: Porsche Panamera Turbo
Sport/Performance Under $50,000: Volkswagen Golf GTI
Sport/Performance Over $50,000: Audi S4
Convertible: Audi A5 Cabriolet
SUV/CUV Under $35,000: Subaru Outback
SUV/CUV $35,000 to $60,000: Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel
Well winter is approaching and it’s time to do biannual car checkup. The time that you put on your winter wheels is the perfect time to do a walkaround and check everything else on the car.
Check your oil level. Yes cars come with oil lights but those don’t really warn you when the oil is low, only when the oil pressure is low. Those are not the same thing. If low, top it up. Check when your last oil change was. If it’s been over 6 months change it, regardless of the mileage.
Check your washer fluid. Now would be a good time to drain the summer fluid and put in a winter fluid that has antifreeze in it.
Check your tire pressure. The manual should say how mcuh pressure should be in the tires. If you regularlly have the car full of passengers, the manual will probably recommend an increased tire pressure. Low tire pressures can hurt fuel economy and make your tires wear out prematurely.
Check your tire tread. Is the tread even? Uneven tread is a sign of poor wheel alignment. Is the tire tread too low, consider getting new tires. Keep in mind that some special winter tires have tread that don’t work past 50%. Be sure to follow the tire’s guidelines.
Check that all your lights are working. This includes accessory lights in the trunk, hood, doors, etc. Lights are generally easy to replace and can be done yourself.
Emergency Supplies. Make sure your have a spare or a tire pump kit in the trunk. Also good is a pair of thick gloves, a shovel, snow brush, ice scraper and a bag of sand/kitty litter. A lot of people recommend having a blanket and candle in the car in case you get stuck.
Halfway through the life of a specific car model, the manufacturers will perform a mid-cycle refresh. Often called a “facelift” by the press, the basic car including powertrain and engines stay generally the same, but subtle changes are added to freshen up the image of the car, introduce some new features that would draw in new buyers, or keep leasers that have their cars being turned in.
The Acura crossovers have been really popular in my circle – it’s by far the most popular car owned by my friends. If you are in the market for one, try to get a great deal on the existing 2009 model, or wait and benefit from the upgrades in the 2010s.
For 2010, both the Acura RDX and MDX are getting a refresh. For the RDX (pictured above), it’s primarily just a facelift, with the front and rear fascia’s changing, with new vents, new light housings and adopting the “shield” grill that started permeating the line with the Acura TL. There will be an addition of a front-wheel drive model in the USA, but it’s undetermined if it will make it into Canada. If it does, this will be a fuel-friendly car since the car will be lighter and already had a direct-injection turbocharged engine.
The MDX (pictured below) also gets new front and rear fascias. It also gets and updated rear-view camera and navigation system. Also included is a radar-based cruise control system and the addition of a six-speed automatic transmission. It is the same transmission coming on the new ZDX and adds a gear which will improve fuel economy on highway driving. The final major change is the addition of an active damping system for the suspension. Adopting the same magnetic-fluid system found on Corvettes and Ferraris, this system will instantaneously adapt to changing road conditions and allow the user to control how comfortable or sporty the ride will be.
Have you shopped around for car insurance the last time it was up for renewal? By shopping around, a lot of people can save some money. Recently my friend used the Kanetix site to look for the best insurance for a new driver. However, I’ve always noticed that insurance offered by that site were notoriously overpriced – even after “comparing” between multiple competitors. I sent him to a number of direct insurer sites and sure enough, he found a quote $155 dollars a month lower than the price offered by a Kanetix partner. I have never seen a quote by Kanetix offering competitive rates.
Try it yourself, compare Kanetix quotes with these insurers:
BMW hosted an event called BMW Comparison Drive. At the event, BMW allowed us to compare their 3 series (323i, 328i xDrive, 335i xDrive and 335d Diesel) against the all-wheel drive versions of the Audi A4, Lexus IS 250 and Mercedes-Benz C300. It was a cloudy day, but the track was dry – it threatened to rain but never did.
The event started with a 30 minute presentation about BMW and the various technologies they use. Not much new information was conveyed but the information was very pro-BMW. However, they did a good job and all the information was based on facts. Since they were comparing all the all-wheel drive cars, it’s important to note that the BMW xDrive cars cannot be equipped with sport suspension. This is unlike cars like the Audi A4 which can be equipped with lowered sport suspension which improves it’s handling and dynamics.
The short track was designed to test dynamics and not powertrain performance. Noone needed to leave 2nd gear at any part of the circuit. The course had five sections, starting with a long sweeping turn with a decreasing radius near the end. Following was an emergency braking while turning exercise, an emergency lane change, and a slalom through the cones. The final leg was a full throttle then full braking exercise.
All the BMW’s felt very good in the course, but the 323i was underpowered. It would be a great commuter car but anyone after some serious performance should pass this car over. The 328i performed great, but it was hard to notice the AWD in this course. A wet traction section would show it off some more, especially since BMW bragged that it was the only system that could put 100% of the power to either front or rear axles.
Some of my observations:
The BMW’s interior is too stark, although the quality of materials is top notch, sitting in the Audi and Mercedes felt a lot better. It was about on par with the Lexus.
The Lexus IS250 AWD is too burdened with the automatic transmission and AWD drivetrain to be a fun car. A manual IS250 without AWD would be more fun.
The Mercedes has a great sounding exhaust, and it was only the C300. The C350 must sound fantastic.
ABS braking is life-saving technology. And every car performed both braking maneuvers flawlessly and some had less aggressive touring tires.
Autotrader, arguably the best site for buying and selling used cars in Canada, is allowing people to list their cars for free. The listing will only be shown on the Internet and will not be published in their print publications. Take advantage of it now!
The only problem with the free listing is that there are numerous fake ads now. If you are shopping for a car, and a deal seems to be too good, it’s likely a fake and that is collecting email addresses or phone numbers. So be careful out there.
I didn’t think it was possible, but Audi improved the R8. They added a new V10 engine, some body tweaks, and standard LED lighting. The result is in the video below:
I never wash my car during the winter. I do this because I put a nice thick coat of sealant before winter starts and I find that frequent winter washes remove this coat really quickly, because of all the grime and salt that builds up on the car. When the weather warms up, I do a single, full wash and the sealant is still underneath, protecting the paint from the elements. Unfortunately, this leaves the car looking like a salt lick for most of the winter.
A few weeks ago, a hand car wash opened up in the neighborhood, just south of Summerhill. Called Mr. Shine it’s located at Yonge and Roxborough, just across the street from the Shell station. I took the car there to support a new local business – they had the tedious task of removing 4 months of dirt from the car. They did a pretty good job, and I recommend them. A basic exterior wash, without detailing, is $16.99. Usually I spend $13 in a car wash bay, so it’s not that much more. I detail my car myself, so I haven’t seen the results. However I’ll probably stop by soon and find out what products they use – and whether or not they use a sealant or a wax (or both!).
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