Picking the 2009 Canadian Car of the Year

MARK RICHARDSON/TORONTO STAR

Wheels writers John LeBlanc, Brian Early, Kathy Renwald and Peter Bleakney were among 80 members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada who judged the contenders in this year's TestFest.

Jim Kenzie

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

NIAGARA-On-THE-LAKE–This was the 21st annual TestFest, and the process – by which the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada chooses the best cars and trucks of the year – has evolved into what we are certain is the biggest, most involved, most complex and, we also believe, most objective such process in the world.

The key to the entire thing is "Back to back, same roads, same conditions, same day."

No matter how good your memory is, there has never been a TestFest where I haven't been surprised by several vehicles I thought I knew well. Getting out of one and right into a direct competitor is the only way to do this properly.

Our process is also broad-based. We had a record 80 journalists this year, representing outlets from coast to coast, in print, broadcast and web media.

Voting privileges are extended only to journalists for whom regular road tests are part of the daily grind. Newcomers must go through a couple of years of apprenticeship before their votes count at full value.

The 56 vehicles judged to be sufficiently "new" this year to qualify are grouped into categories so that we are not comparing apples to pineapples.

The first division is tough enough: cars versus, well, "utility vehicles" is the label we've chosen, since "truck" doesn't mean much anymore.

Subsequent subdivisions based on function and price depend to a degree on what sort of vehicles are entered. This year, for example, there were not enough new minivans to make up a category.

There were 14 categories of vehicles, most of which are described inside this section.

Journalists are grouped into teams, and assigned to evaluate certain categories, typically three or four, depending on the number of vehicles in each.

They must drive each vehicle on the same day on the same route, including evaluation on a high-speed test circuit and/or simulated off-road course or "cottage road," depending on the category.

An electronic key tracking system linking vehicle to driver ensures that nobody cheats.

Journalists are also encouraged to test-drive additional categories, although those scores are down-weighted.

For each vehicle, the juror ranks a wide range of attributes, covering design, room, quality, performance, safety, economy and value, and enters the scores online.

In addition, a corps of professional test drivers evaluates every vehicle for acceleration from rest, passing acceleration and braking. Transport Canada fuel consumption figures are also factored in.

The attributes are weighted differently for the various categories, on the theory that acceleration from rest, for example, is more important for a sports/performance car than for a pickup truck.

Finally, a price factor is applied, on the theory that a more expensive vehicle should be better at most things than a less expensive one.

The data is then compiled by accounting firm KPMG, and category winners are established. A second round of voting chooses the overall Car and Utility Vehicle of the Year from those short lists.

A major change this year required us to have our category votes in by 5 p.m. Wednesday. KPMG spent Thursday doing their thing and announced the category winners last Friday at 10 a.m.

Jurors were then required to drive any category winners they had not driven during the week to vote for the overall winners, although that voting itself does not have to be done until January.

Complicated? Yes. And not to say that we always get it right.

But if there is a better way to do it, 20-plus years of fine-tuning have yet to discover it.

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