Industry Report: AJAC Announces 2005 Canadian Car of the Year Category Winners

But how would the one year old Toyota Sienna stack up against the new Honda Odyssey, 2004 and 2005 "Best New Minivan" category

Anyone who has driven the new Ford Mustang won't argue against it winning the "Best New Sports / Performance Car" category. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

winners? Toyota's entry offers a more flexible interior with folding rear seats that are easier to manage and a near flat folding second row, while the new Honda mid-van delivers more dynamic driving characteristics. That would be a tough call if pitted directly against each other, no doubt as difficult as passing over the ultimately flexible interior packaging of Chrysler's new Stow 'n Go flat folding seating system. GM'sSaturn Relay and Buick Terraza are also worthy contenders, but three new minivan entries make this category hardly as competitive as some others.

There was no "Best New Station Wagon" category in 2004, but now that wagons are

Toyota's Tacoma won "Best New Pick-up", beating out the new Dodge Dakota and Nissan Frontier midsize entries, plus the new Ford F-250 Super Duty. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

such a significant segment AJAC added one to keep up with the times. The Mazda6 Sport Wagon which took top honors was up against extremely stiff competition, including the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx, Chevrolet Optra Wagon, Dodge Magnum RT, Jaguar X-Type Wagon, Subaru Legacy and Volvo V50. Again, a tough choice.

Toyota's Tacoma won "Best New Pick-up", beating out the new Dodge Dakota and Nissan Frontier midsize entries. But how would it have fared against the full-size Ford F-150, last year's winner? That's once again difficult to say, being that both are so well executed. Another category entrant, however, was the new Ford F-250 Super Duty, which shares much of the DNA that made the F-150 a winner last year.