Advertisement 1

Kia and Jaguar take Canadian vehicle honours

“We are thrilled and proud of the Stinger being named Canadian Car of the Year,” says Greg Gilbertson, general manager, Wheaton Kia in Regina.

Article content

The Kia Stinger has been named Car of the Year and the Jaguar I-Pace is the Utility Vehicle of the Year, in voting by members of the Automobile Journalists of Canada (AJAC).

The announcement of Canada’s highest automotive accolades was made at the Canadian International Auto Show, which is wrapping up this weekend in Toronto.

“We are thrilled and proud of the Stinger being named Canadian Car of the Year,” says Greg Gilbertson, general manager, Wheaton Kia in Regina.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content
Article content

I served as a judge for these awards last fall at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park near Bowmanville, Ont., near Toronto.

Among the many vehicles I tested were a Stinger and an I-Pace. Each vehicle is scored on a one-to-10 scale by about 70 judges on 20 different elements, including such things as performance, features, technology, design, fuel consumption and value.

The Stinger test vehicle was the GT Limited AWD model, with a 3.3L twin-turbo V-6 producing 365 hp and a 0-100 km/h time of 4.9 seconds. It’s a large, spacious four-door hatchback sedan with lots of of hauling capacity.

The black interior is gorgeous, with dark red leather trim on the door panels and seats, and brushed aluminum trim on the dash and console. All controls are easy to find and intuitive, and the seats are extremely comfortable. Driver position is excellent, and the ride is very smooth and quiet.

It has lots of safety and technology features, including seven airbags, blind-spot detection, rear cross traffic alert, rear parking sensors, autonomous emergency braking, lane keep assist and advanced smart cruise control. It also lots of luxury touches, including a 15-speaker Harman Kardon premium audio system, Nappa leather interior, heated front and rear seats and a heated steering wheel. The list price is $49,995.

Article content
Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

The exterior is sporty looking. Visibility is good, except out the back window. The navigation screen, unlike many other elements of the Stinger, is closer to average than exceptional.

I scored the Stinger highest for driver position, convenience and entertainment features, throttle response and the interior.

The Stinger shares a platform and some components with the Genesis G70 (Hyundia’s upscale brand), and this is not a knock, because the Genesis G70 also won two prestigious awards; Motor Trend magazine’s Car of the Year, and Car of the Year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last month.

“We feel the AJAC award will generate more interest in the Stinger, and also Kia as a brand. We are still a very young brand in Canada, as this is Kia’s 20th anniversary. There have been many J.D. Power quality awards over the past five years, and now the Car of the Year award is well earned,” says Gilbertson.

Winning this award will be a talking point for sales staff, and will be part of Kia’s advertising campaign.

“We will definitely focus on this great award. Kia beat some great entries from the competition and it’s something we feel very proud about,” says Gilbertson.

Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

The Stinger beat out the Kia Forte and the Volvo V90 R Design for AJAC Car of the Year honours.

The Jaguar I-Pace took the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year title, finishing ahead of the Mazda CX-5 and Hyundai Kona.

The I-Pace is the first time an all-electric vehicle has won a major AJAC award. Unlike a hybrid, there is no gas engine in the I-Pace; it is 100 per cent electric.

“I think this shines a light on alternate propulsion systems, and says to consumers these are high-quality vehicles. I think people will come in and want to learn more,” says Vaughn Wyant, president and CEO of the Wyant Group, which has several car dealerships in Western Canada, including Saskatchewan’s only Jaguar dealer, in Saskatoon.

When I test-drove a Jaguar I-Pace, two things struck me: it’s futuristic and fast. It handles like a sporty car and is spacious inside. It’s Jaguar’s first pure electric model and has two electric motors, one for the front wheels and one for the back wheels. It can do 0-100 kms in 4.6 seconds. It’s also amazingly quiet.

I gave the I-Pace high marks for throttle response, quality and market significance.

Advertisement 5
Story continues below
Article content

The base price is $96,500 and with options and destination fee, the total price came in at $103,110.

“The car is great, and I think we’re going to see lots of interest. I think it’s awesome, and we’re going see a lot of battery-electric and hybrid vehicles coming from all the manufacturers in the years to come,” says Wyant.

“AJAC journalists are among the most objective and discerning automotive professionals in the country, and the fact that these two vehicles have risen to the top of our vigorous testing and voting protocol means that they’re truly among the best available to Canadian buyers,” said AJAC President Mark Richardson.

Dale Edward Johnson is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada and was again a voting member for the Car of the Year and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards.

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    This Week in Flyers