In what can only be described as an “American Idol” style of reveal, we are slowly learning the fate of the 58 vehicles attempting to become the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada’s (AJAC) cars and utility vehicles of the year. 

It used to be a three-part process where AJAC members tested and scored the vehicles, which was followed by the reveal of the winners on the Thursday of TestFest. Then we would wait until the Canadian International AutoShow in Toronto in February to find out the overall winners for Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY). 

The reveal system has changed to four parts that saw the testing and scoring of the vehicles at TestFest; followed by the announcement of the top three in each category in November; the winners of those categories gets revealed in December; and finally the overall CCOTY winners are announced. 

Today, AJAC revealed that second part, the top three in each category and now the remaining 36 vehicles and their respective companies will have to wait until December 3rd to see if they won their respective categories.

In total, there are 12 groups that range from Small Cars (under $21K) to Sports - Performance (over $50K) to Pickup Trucks. Scoring was conducted by close to 80 AJAC members based on styling, occupant environment, performance and vehicle dynamics. Those results were tabulated by the international accounting firm KPMG through a scoring system that puts into account the price of each vehicle entered.

There were a few surprises and some nice showings by some of the manufacturers. Kia led the way with all five of their vehicles passing the first cut; while Mercedes-Benz saw four of their seven vehicles still alive. Mazda’s confidence heading into TestFest was backed-up by having all three of their entered vehicles make it through; while the Toyota/Lexus group (3), Honda/Acura group (3), Nissan/Infiniti group (2) and BMW (2) had all of their vehicles survive as well. 

It wasn’t all rosy for some as Mitsubishi, Lincoln, Buick and Land Rover were shut out of the next round. General Motors had the most vehicles entered and fared well if you take away the results of Buick vehicles. While, the Jaguar/Land Rover group are only left with the Jaguar XJ XJR in the Prestige category after entering five vehicles.

Here’s a list of all the 2014 CCOTY candidates still in contention. The category winners will be revealed on December 3rd at the Toronto Congress Centre. Stay tuned for more information as it comes and if you’re looking for more details about the whole TestFest and CCOTY process, go to www.ajac.ca.

TOP THREE FINALISTS

Small Car (under $21K)

Mazda3

Nissan Versa Note

Toyota Corolla

Small Car (over $21K)

Ford Fiesta ST

Kia Forte Sedan

Mazda3 Sport

Family Car (under $30K)

Fiat 500L

Kia Rondo

Kia Soul

Family Car (over $30K)

Chevrolet Impala 

Honda Accord Hybrid

Mazda6

Luxury Car (under $50K)

Kia Cadenza

Lexus IS 350

Mercedes-Benz CLA 250

Luxury Car (over $50K)

Acura RLX

Cadillac CTS

Infiniti Q50 Hybrid

Sports - Performance (over $50K)

BMW 4 Series Coupe

Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

Porsche Cayman

Prestige Car (over $75K)

Cadillac XTS

Jaguar XJ XJR

Mercedes-Benz S 550

SUV/CUV (under $35K)

Jeep Cherokee

Subaru Forester XT 

Toyota RAV4 

SUV/CUV ($35K to $60K)

Hyundai Santa Fe XL

Kia Sorento

Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC

SUV/CUV (over $60K)

Acura MDX

BMW X5

Mercedes-Benz GL 350 BlueTEC

Pickup

Chevrolet Silverado

GMC Sierra

Dodge Ram 1500