Mazda Takes Three Wins at Canadian Car of the Year Awards

Mazda, General Motors and Kia are all happy north of the border today, as the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) handed out its categorical car of the year awards to these brands and more.

The new 2014 Mazda3 took home two wins, one for best new small car under $25,000 and one for best new small car over $25,000, while the larger Mazda6 topped the family car over $30,000 category. The small car over $25,000 is particularly interesting, as the Mazda3 Sport beat out even the new Ford Fiesta ST.

Both General Motors and Kia claim two titles each this year. For the general, it is the Corvette Stingray winning the best new sports performance category and the GMC Sierra taking the title of best new pickup truck. As for Kia, the Korean automaker won out in the best new family car under $30,000 category with the 2014 Soul as well as the best new CUV between $35,000 and $60,000 with the 2014 Sorento.

Staying with CUVs and SUVs, the 2014 Jeep Cherokee was named best new CUV under $35,000, while the Acura MDX is the best new CUV over $60,000.

Moving up the price brackets to the top, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class was named the best new Prestige car, while the best new luxury cars under and over $50,000 are the Lexus IS350 AWD and the Infiniti Q50 Hybrid respectively.

The winners are determined at an event known as Test Fest, which sees 80 journalists come together to drive about 170 vehicles over the course of a week. Full scores for each car will be released soon leading up to the 2014 Canadian Car of the Year Award deciding the overall winner to be announced during the Canadian International Auto Show in February, 2014.