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Here are AJAC’s 2016 Car and Truck of the Year contenders

The road to the 2016 Canadian Car of the Year awards starts today at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ont.

Members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) will gather at Mosport to put 42 eligible cars, crossovers and trucks through their paces in the annual event known as TestFest, with the busy evaluation week wrapping up Friday, Oct. 30.

The testing process involves “real world” driving on public roads and a rating of each car based on 21 separate evaluation parameters that include acceleration, braking and vehicle dynamics, among others.

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Cars await testing during AJAC's TestFest in 2013.

Cars await testing during AJAC’s TestFest in 2013.
Nick Tragianis, Driving

Testers will compare each vehicle in its class, back-to-back, on the same roads and under the same conditions to ensure objective evaluation. The results are tabulated by KPMG and kept confidential until the category and overall winners are announced. This year, vehicles will be grouped into nine categories. The category winners will be announced in December, with the overall 2016 Canadian Car and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards being announced at Toronto’s Canadian International Auto Show in February.

Here’s the rundown of this year’s entries, grouped into the nine categories being tested. May the best car/truck/SUV win!

Small car: The best-selling Honda Civic sedan goes up against two new entrants in the small car game, the Scion iM (automatic transmission) and the Toyota Yaris Sedan. Mercedes-Benz’s Smart fortwo coupe and Volkswagen’s Jetta (1.4 TSI) round out the group.

Family car: Hyundai’s redesigned Sonata Hybrid will go up against the Chevrolet Volt and Volkswagen Golf Sportwagon (1.8 TSI) for the family car crown.

Sports – Performance (under $50K): Chevrolet’s beefy Camaro SS muscle car goes up against some smaller contenders in the new Mazda MX-5 Miata, Hyundai Veloster Rally Edition, Mini John Cooper Works 3-Door and Volkswagen’s hot hatch Golf R.

Sports – Performance (over $50K): Ford’s 526-horsepower Shelby GT350 Mustang will go up against the likes of Mercedes-AMG’s C 63 S super sedan, Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Cadillac ATS-V and the Lexus RC 350 AWD.

Prestige – Performance (over $75K): In this group of high-priced, high-performance vehicles, we’ve got the Cadillac CTS-V, Mercedes-AMG GT S Coupe, Porsche Cayman GT4 and Lexus RC F duking it out.

SUV – CUV (under $35K): In this fast-growing and ultra-competitive segment, four subcompact crossovers, the Jeep Renegade, Fiat 500X, Honda HR-V, and Mazda CX-3, and one midsize CUV, the Mitsubishi Outlander with 2.4-litre engine, battle for the crown.

SUV – CUV ($35K to $60K): This crowded category of family haulers includes the BMW X1, Ford Edge, Honda Pilot, Hyundai Tucson, Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell Electric, Kia Sorento, Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 4Matic and the Lexus NX 200t F Sport.

SUV – CUV (over $60K): Competing for the luxury SUV crown are the Lincoln MKX, Mercedes-Benz GLE 350d 4Matic Coupe, Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid and the Volvo XC90.

Pickup: There are three new pickups in the running for this year’s best truck title. The entries are the GMC Canyon Diesel, Chevrolet Silverado and the Toyota Tacoma (4X4 Double Cab).

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