2005 Canadian Car Of The Year Award Winners:

[Lexusfreak]

Good choices this year IMO. Enjoy! B)

December 8, 2004

2005 Canadian Car of the Year award winners announced

Toronto, Ontario - Twelve 2005 Canadian Car of the Year Award category winners were announced by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) during a press conference at the Holiday Inn Select Airport in Toronto on Tuesday.

The 2005 category winners are:

Best New Economy Car: Kia Spectra Sedan LX

Best New Family Car: Mazda6 Sport

Best New Luxury Car: Chrysler 300 C

Best New Sport Utility Vehicle: BMW X3 3.0i

Best New Crossover: Hyundai Tucson

Best New Sport Compact: Volvo S40

Best New Sports / Performance Car: Ford Mustang

Best New Minivan: Honda Odyssey

Best New Station Wagon: Mazda6 Sport Wagon

Best New Pick-up: Toyota Tacoma

Best New Convertible: Mercedes-Benz SLK 350

Best New Alternative Power: Honda Accord Hybrid

This year's category winners represent the best among a group of new cars and trucks for 2005, as selected by a professional group of automotive experts who test drive, and report on, new vehicles in various media.

Every year, this group of automotive experts, meet at Shannonville Motorsport Park near Belleville, Ontario, for a four-day automotive "TestFest" based on "real-world" back-to-back testing to select the best new vehicles in various categories as well as an overall Car of the Year and Truck of the Year. "A record number of 64 vehicle entries were performance-tested for acceleration, braking and passing times, at least four times each. In addition, journalists were running an average of 10 driving loops a day during team and individual testing over the 4 day period," said Car of the Year Director Laurance Yap.

The awards program also includes a "Best New Technology" award and the "Best New Design" award.

The overall Canadian Car and Truck of the Year will be announced on February 16th, 2005 in conjunction with the official opening of the 2005 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Ontario. The Best New Design and Best New Technology winners will also be declared at that time.

To obtain a copy of the comparative test and performance data as well as the actual "Best New" vote results, visit www.ajac.ca.

[silvermate]

that chrystler 300C is sick man......

i want either a pearl white one or a silver one...not gonna get one, but my mom is, man they are sweet

i just love the chopped windows, it would look really good with those colors and chrome wheels, with some black out window.....

[amf1932]

The January issue of 'Consumers Reports' gave the Chrysler 300C a pretty sad review. Such as, poor visibility due to their chopped top, suspension noise, poor ride, poor fuel economy, unimpressive halogen headlights, etc.

This car might look hot, but I'm going to keep my ES300, :whistles:

[Lexusfreak]

CR usually does not recommend a brand new to the market model.........the visibility issue I can agree with & you can get HID's as an option.....one would have to go with the Hemi of course with it's cylinder de-activation feature. And AWD is an option too! Proudly built in Brampton, Ontario :D

[amf1932]

CR usually does not recommend a brand new to the market model

Except for the Lexus ES's, which are built and assembled all over the world.

I have 'Consumers Reports' dating back to the first ES road tests and not one test was so shabby as the 300 or the 300C. As far as I'm concerned the only thing that this new model has going for it is the Hemi engine. IMO. :)

[Lexusfreak]

CR usually does not recommend a brand new to the market model

Except for the Lexus ES's, which are built and assembled all over the world.

I have 'Consumers Reports' dating back to the first ES road tests and not one test was so shabby as the 300 or the 300C. As far as I'm concerned the only thing that this new model has going for it is the Hemi engine. IMO. :)

←

True, however it's good value overall for the price & one does have the option of the AWD model as well. Chrysler is finally starting to get it's act together......but I'd never buy a North American car in it's first year of production......a Lexus? You Bet! :)

BEST value & a homerun has to go to the new Ford Mustang however.......dollar per horsepower ratio, it's no contest. :D

[SW03ES]

No AWD in the states, at least not yet.

I drove a 300C. I love its style, its definately the best looking car for the money no question there. My qualms with it were its interior and its build quality. Materials still aren't as good as entry level luxury cars most notably the ES and I also experienced some rattles even on a brand new one. Dash is made of cheap hard plastic and the seats aren't even triple stitched. The C model rode harder than the base premium model which had a more traditional ride. I didn't notice any significant visibility problems compared to my ES.

Its a nice car but its nothing like a Lexus, Infiniti, BMW etc.

[Lexusfreak]

No AWD in the states, at least not yet.

I drove a 300C. I love its style, its definately the best looking car for the money no question there. My qualms with it were its interior and its build quality. Materials still aren't as good as entry level luxury cars most notably the ES and I also experienced some rattles even on a brand new one. Dash is made of cheap hard plastic and the seats aren't even triple stitched. The C model rode harder than the base premium model which had a more traditional ride. I didn't notice any significant visibility problems compared to my ES.

Its a nice car but its nothing like a Lexus, Infiniti, BMW etc.

←

Agreed sw.....January 2005 issue of Motortrend Magazine mentions that the AWD model is now available.

[SW03ES]

Is it? Cool, it wasn't availiable when I looked at them a couple months ago.

[Lexusfreak]

Is it? Cool, it wasn't availiable when I looked at them a couple months ago.

←

I know.....I got a brochure of the 300 when it first hit the streets.....not a mention of AWD in it........But one of my Candian car publications mentioned in a review that it will be available in December 2004 & the Chrysler website (at least the Canadian website) has it as available. :) Same goes for the Magnum.

[CanadaCraig]

The January issue of 'Consumers Reports' gave the Chrysler 300C a pretty sad review. Such as, poor visibility due to their chopped top, suspension noise, poor ride, poor fuel economy, unimpressive halogen headlights, etc.

This car might look hot, but I'm going to keep my ES300

First off - thanks Lexusfreak for the message.

Hi amf1932!! :)

With all due respect to our mothers - to me - 'Consumer Reports' is like having 'mom' test a car. Unless it's obviously 'practical' - then it's 'no good'. But not every car HAS to be 'practical'. [or 'smooth'] And every car has faults. The passenger seat in the 2002 Lexus ES300 that I had as a courtesy car [while my LS was being fixed] rattled and the engine was 'ruff' when pushed and not particularily quiet. The transmission often hunted for the 'right' gear to be in and the 'auto-wiper' feature was more annoying than helpful. But it's still a great car. And so is the 300C. My 'mom' thinks that my NSX is 'silly'. "What if you buy a BBQ at Costco - how would you EVER get it home in THAT 'thing'?!"

Oh mother!! lol :P

Craig!! :)

[SW03ES]

Something was wrong with that ES then. You can't use rental/loaner cars as examples of particular cars because of the hard life they lead. The 300C I drove was brand new and had 8 miles on it.

Its not that its not "Lexus" smooth, its not smooth as in its unrefined. BMWs don't ride like Lexuses, there's road feel and engine noise thats designed to be there. BMWs though are still "smooth" they're refined in everything they do. Ferraris aren't Lexus riding but they're "smooth". The 300C's problem is that its unrefined and coarse in places that its competition in luxury brands are not. That "smoothness" is the marque of a well engineered car. the 300C is not smooth in the way a Ford Truck isn't smooth. Its coarse and unrefined in places.

Now, the tradeoff is the style and power, the 300C's competition can't match it for power but I'd rather trade smooth refined engineering for some ponies.

I also disagree that people that buy sedans aren't looking for practicality, they definately are. People who don't need the car for its space or people seating and want power buy sports cars, plenty of 2 door sporty cars in the 300C's price bracket that are much quicker and better handling than the 300C. The ONLY reason to buy a sedan is that you need it for something, a practical consideration.

The 300C isn't designed to appeal to a young 20something who doesn't care about practicality.

The 300C is a great car for the money, but its not going to take buyers away from Lexuses, BMWs, Mercedes, Acuras, Infinitis etc.

[denslexusgx470]

it's kinda surprising how the 300c is getting revenge! (for me at least!) :whistles:

[Lexusfreak]

it's kinda surprising how the 300c is getting revenge! (for me at least!):whistles:

←

The 300c is steeling BIGTIME sales from GM & Ford......they offer a broader line of engine choices then the other 2 which is very smart! Ford is coming out with a larger V6 for their new Five Hundred......but they should have already had it available for a new product launch! :chairshot: Chrysler learned this the hard way from the Pacifica. B)