It was an early morning in late February when the news broke. From a press booth at the Canadian International Auto Show (CIAS), the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) announced that the Volkswagen GTI had won their prestigious 2010 'Canadian Car of the Year' (CCOTY) award. Sorry for the abbreviations.
A few excited gasps were audible as applause built and journalists clicked away on smartphones to reveal the winner to their social networking circles. As the news flooded across computer screens and newspaper columns in the hours and days that followed, you could almost hear the enthusiast community grinding their teeth.
Why?
For its overall win, the GTI first needed to emerge victorious from its 'Sports and Performance Car under $50,000' category by amassing the most points after voting by AJAC members. The panel of Canada's top auto writers assigned points in numerous areas after back-to-back testing of category participants on roads and a handling circuit last fall.
After its category win, the GTI was re-evaluated alongside 11 other category winners on a different set of criteria for the overall victory.
Long story, but here’s the problem: with only 'new-this-year' models eligible to participate, the GTI was up against some seriously hot sheetmetal from the get-go. For its initial category win, it dusted the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Mazdaspeed3, Ford Taurus SHO, Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart and Chevrolet Camaro SS in the points war.
And that's the issue, as perceived by hot-headed enthusiasts the country over. Not only was the AJAC’s winning performance car the least-powerful in the category, but instrumented performance testing showed it put down some of the poorest acceleration and braking figures, too.
At a glance, the GTI appeared seriously out-gunned. The Camaro or Genesis would devour it in a drag race, the Mazdaspeed3 has more power, the Lancer Ralliart has all-wheel drive, and the Taurus SHO is plenty more luxurious.
Thing is, AJAC's voting procedures reward vehicles for being an exceptional overall package. Were points available for best rev-limiter sound effects or hairiest powerslide, things may have been different. However, scoring results revealed that the little German pocket-rocket effectively smoked its rivals when it came to the relevant day-to-day stuff.
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| If you’re after an uncompromised sports-car for everyday use, it starts to make plenty of sense. (Photo: Justin Pritchard/Auto123.com) |
A few excited gasps were audible as applause built and journalists clicked away on smartphones to reveal the winner to their social networking circles. As the news flooded across computer screens and newspaper columns in the hours and days that followed, you could almost hear the enthusiast community grinding their teeth.
Why?
For its overall win, the GTI first needed to emerge victorious from its 'Sports and Performance Car under $50,000' category by amassing the most points after voting by AJAC members. The panel of Canada's top auto writers assigned points in numerous areas after back-to-back testing of category participants on roads and a handling circuit last fall.
After its category win, the GTI was re-evaluated alongside 11 other category winners on a different set of criteria for the overall victory.
Long story, but here’s the problem: with only 'new-this-year' models eligible to participate, the GTI was up against some seriously hot sheetmetal from the get-go. For its initial category win, it dusted the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Mazdaspeed3, Ford Taurus SHO, Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart and Chevrolet Camaro SS in the points war.
And that's the issue, as perceived by hot-headed enthusiasts the country over. Not only was the AJAC’s winning performance car the least-powerful in the category, but instrumented performance testing showed it put down some of the poorest acceleration and braking figures, too.
At a glance, the GTI appeared seriously out-gunned. The Camaro or Genesis would devour it in a drag race, the Mazdaspeed3 has more power, the Lancer Ralliart has all-wheel drive, and the Taurus SHO is plenty more luxurious.
Thing is, AJAC's voting procedures reward vehicles for being an exceptional overall package. Were points available for best rev-limiter sound effects or hairiest powerslide, things may have been different. However, scoring results revealed that the little German pocket-rocket effectively smoked its rivals when it came to the relevant day-to-day stuff.
 |
| GTI’s ergonomics and visibility scores were category leaders, and scores for interior styling and interior quality smashed the competition. (Photo: Justin Pritchard/Auto123.com) |