It’s already October and Halloween is approaching and that can only mean one thing – “TestFest” is upon us. For those that aren’t in the know, TestFest is a week-long event run by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) to eventually determine their picks for Canadian Car(s) of the Year (CCOTY). 

How it works?

For this year, there are 58 new vehicles approved and entered into the competition. Each vehicle has been assigned into one of 12 groups and a winner will be chosen from each category group based on the scores assigned from the 79 AJAC journalists attending the event.

Not every journalist votes on each vehicle, but will be assigned to two or three categories to test. Once a journalist begins a particular group, they must complete the group on that same day, conducting back-to-back tests via the same driving route in order to be able to judge them based on the same criteria. Another key factor in AJAC’s voting structure is that these vehicles are tested on public roads and under real-world conditions to provide relevancy for consumers. 

My assigned categories

This year, yours truly has been handed three categories that have some exciting contenders. I start out with the Small Car (under $21K) category that pits two long-standing rivals in the compact sedan segment, the Toyota Corolla and the Mazda3 with two newcomers, the Mitsubishi Mirage and the Nissan Versa Note.

The next group I’ve been assigned to tackle is the Luxury Car (under $50K) category. This group has five contenders in it including the Buick Regal, Kia Cadenza, Lexus IS 350 RWD, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid and the Mercedes-Benz CLA 250. Many of these vehicles have their pros and cons, but matched-up against each other might just reveal a clear winner. Who knows? 

The last group will be my most exciting and that’s the Prestige (over $75K) category. This group also has five entered including the Cadillac XTS, the Jaguar XJ XJR, Mercedes-Benz S Class, the Porsche Panamera S e-Hybrid and the Range Rover Supercharged. This is a mixed bag of competitors that are not typically compared against each other, so it’s anyone’s guess who will take it.

You will be hearing a lot about the vehicles listed above along with my top picks, but I will be able to test out other vehicles throughout the week. It wouldn’t be possible to leave TestFest without testing the highly sought-after Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Jaguar F-Type V6-S, or Porsche Cayman. 

New venue and winner announcements

AJAC’s TestFest has moved its venue several times over its 28 years of existence and in its 29th edition they will be heading to the Legends on the Niagara GolfCourse in Niagara Falls. This will be new to everyone, so it will take some time to get adjusted to those new routes. We will have to wait and see whether this new venue will surpass the former that was located at the Niagara Airport in Niagara-on-the-Lake. 

Another new feature to TestFest this year is that category winners will not be announced on the Thursday evening, but we will be treated to an American Idol-style cliffhanger. Ballots will still be tabulated by the international accounting firm KPMG, but not revealed until December 3rd at a press conference in Toronto.

After that, we will be provided the Best New Technology winners on January 28th in Toronto and the overall winners will be announced on February 13th at the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto.

To keep track of everything related to AJAC’s TestFest, visit our Twitter handle @thedrivermag or my personal one @david_miller11. You can also check out the latest pictures on our Facebook page.