The four winners of the 2024 Canadian Car of the Year Awards (CCOTY), presented by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), were announced today during the opening ceremonies of the Canadian International Auto Show.
The Toyota Prius is the 2024 Canadian Car of the Year. Judges loved the eye-catching latest generation of the pioneering hybrid model and placed it ahead of its fellow finalists, the Acura Integra Type S and Honda Accord, in the final ballots.
The 2024 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year is the Toyota Grand Highlander. Toyota’s new three-row SUV has attracted plaudits for its space and efficient hybrid powertrain options.
There are also two awards for the growing electric vehicle market. The Genesis Electrified G80 takes home the award as the 2024 Canadian Electric Car of the Year. It’s the latest of several CCOTY awards in recent years for Genesis, for whom the gas-powered G80 model was a CCOTY category winner in 2021.
Meanwhile the 2024 Canadian Electric Utility Vehicle of the Year is the Genesis Electrified GV70, which edged out the two other finalists – the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV9 – in the final vote.
“AJAC is proud to present our highest honours to the 2024 Canadian Car of the Year Awards winners, marking the cars, trucks and SUVs that our members have voted to be the best vehicles on sale in Canada this year,” said AJAC President Evan Williams. “AJAC members represent the country’s largest and most diverse group of automotive experts. We test vehicles from coast to coast on the same roads and in the same conditions that Canadians experience every day. When the time came to decide, our members cast nearly 2,000 ballots. Our depth of experience and expertise is how we know Canadians can count on our assessments and on the Canadian Car of the Year Awards when it comes time to choose their own next vehicle.”
Under a new format for 2024, the CCOTY Awards have been simplified into four categories:
- Canadian Car of the Year
- Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year
- Canadian Electric Car of the Year
- Canadian Electric Utility Vehicle of the Year
All 2024 model-year vehicles – more than 200 – are eligible for the CCOTY Awards including those newly designed, recently refreshed, and carried over from last year.
The program’s more than 50 jurors are based right across Canada, from Vancouver to Halifax. CCOTY is Canada’s ONLY vehicle awards scheme in which the jurors drive every vehicle they vote on. Vehicles are tested on the same roads and in the same conditions faced by Canadian drivers from coast to coast every day, as well as at AJAC’s annual TestFest event held each October.
Almost 2,000 ballots were cast. Ballots are scored anonymously on many different factors, including performance, features, technology, design, fuel consumption and value. Results from the journalists’ ballots are audited by international accounting firm KPMG and remain under wraps until the moment the envelopes are opened.