Oh, Canada! — indeed. While the majority of the new cars and trucks Canadians buy are built outside the borders of the Great White North, there are over 20 new models that are still built right here, some of which are the top sellers in this country. Through the first five months of 2014, here are the 10 best-selling Canadian-made new vehicles:
10. Chrysler Town & Country
The next-generation Town & Country will be the first in line for Chrysler’s hybrid powertrain.
Handout, Chrysler
Canadian-made since 1989, the $32,595 (all prices are starting MSRPs) Chrysler Town & Country is one of three minivans built at Fiat-Chrysler’s Windsor, Ont., facility. While not as popular as its Dodge platform-mate, the fifth-generation Town & Country is also built at a Fiat facility in Missouri. Through to the end of May, Town & Country sales are up 6% with 4,083 copies sold.
9. 2014 GMC Terrain
2014 GMC Terrain SLE
Handout, GM
Canadians love their crossovers, so it’s no surprise to find the $28,295 GMC Terrain on our list. Taking over for the Pontiac Torrent when General Motors killed its Pontiac brand back in 2009, the Terrain is built alongside its Chevrolet Equinox platform-mate at both GM’s Ingersoll and Oshawa, Ont., assembly facilities. Terrain sales for 2014 year-to-date are down 4%, to 4,741 copies sold
8. 2014 Toyota Matrix
Toyota has announced plans to discontinue the Matrix hatchback – with no replacement in the works.
Handout, Toyota
The hatchback version of the Toyota Corolla compact sedan, the $17,895 Toyota Matrix, was added to Toyota’s Cambridge plant in 2002. And while the more popular Corolla is built around the world and sold in many foreign markets, the front-wheel-drive, five-passenger, four-door hatchback Matrix is only sold in Canada. Despite sales of the hatchback off 40% this year, down to only 5,135 copies sold through May, the Matrix still made our list.
7. 2014 Ford Edge
Ford Edge
Handout photo, Ford
Built on a shortened platform shared with the Mazda CX-9 three-row crossover, the two-row, five-passenger $30,999 Ford Edge has been made in Ford’s Oakville, Ont., facility since it debuted in 2006. So far in 2014, Ford has sold 6,572 copies, down 1%. An all-new generation of Edge was recently revealed. Based on the Ford Fusion platform, it will go on sale in Canada in early 2015 and will continue to be built in Oakville.
6. 2014 Chevrolet Equinox
The Chevrolet Equinox and its GMC sibling, the Terrain, were the only two to score top honours from the IIHS’ latest round of crash tests for midsize SUVs.
Handout, GM
General Motors has assembled its popular $26,935 five-passenger, four-door Chevrolet Equinox midsize crossover (and its GMC Terrain twin) at its Ingersoll, Ont., facility since 2004. Now in its second generation, to keep up with heavy demand for the Equinox, GM has recently added production to its Oshawa facility, too. The only other plant in the world that builds the Chevy crossover is in Tennessee, U.S.A. Year-to-date, sales are up 20%, with 7,644 copies sold in Canada.
5. 2014 Honda CR-V
2014 Honda CR-V Touring
Jodi Lai, Driving
The $25,990 Honda CR-V is the Civic of the crossover world: practical, reliable, excellent fuel economy and well made. It’s exactly the sort of vehicle Canadians have come to love. Unlike the Civic, the CR-V has had less of tenure in Canada, with production starting in 2012. With sales up 5% and 13,239 copies sold so far this year, the CR-V is Honda’s second-most popular model in Canada.
4. 2014 Toyota RAV4
2014 Toyota RAV4
Paul Williams, Driving
Like its Corolla sedan stable mate, the $23,870 RAV4 compact crossover is one of Toyota’s best sellers in Canada — and is also made right here, too. Since 2009, the five-passenger crossover has been built at Toyota’s facility in Woodstock, Ont., just west of Cambridge where the Corolla, Matrix and Lexus RX crossover are built. Despite sales down 1% from the first five months of 2013, with 13,467 copies sold this year, the RAV4 is still a popular ride.
3. 2014 Toyota Corolla
2014 Toyota Corolla S.
Nick Tragianis, Driving
Like its biggest rival, the Honda Civic, the Toyota Corolla compact sedan has been built in Canada since 1988. The current, Toyota Corolla is built alongside its Matrix hatchback platform mate at Toyota’s Cambridge, Ontario facility. Starting last fall, an all-new generation of the Canadian-made Corolla began hitting showrooms. Canadians have responded accordingly, with Corolla sales up 16% this year, to 18,032 copies sold
2. 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan
With loads of space, plenty of power, and tons of options, the 2014 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT Plus is like the Swiss Army knife of minivans.
Graeme Fletcher, Driving
The growing popularity of crossovers has more or less come at the expense of the ultimate family hauler, the minivan. Nevertheless, with sales up 12% to 19,473 copies sold through the end of May this year, the $19,895 Dodge Grand Caravan is still a fixture on Canadian sales charts. Plus, all Grand Caravans are made at Fiat-Chrysler’s Windsor, Ont., plant, as they have since 1983
1. 2014 Honda Civic
If Acura sold an ILX Coupe, the 2014 Civic Coupe EX model would be a good starting point.
John LeBlanc, Driving
While Honda has been building cars at its Alliston, Ont., plant since 1986, it didn’t start manufacturing Civics until 1988. Still, it’s no coincidence that the best-selling Canadian-made vehicle is built here as well. With year-to-date sales up 6% to 22,808 copies sold, the Honda Civic compact continues to be the “best-selling passenger car in Canada” as well, as it has for the past 16 years.
