Audi Parent VW group dominates Car of the Year awards

Volkswagen and Audis dominate, while Porsche Panamera and Mazda3 also clinch big wins

Volkswagen Group vehicles dominated the 2010 Canadian Car of the Year awards from the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada; VW models took four awards, five if you include the Panamera four-door's win for Porsche. The VW Group is in the process of taking over Porsche after a corporate drama where they each tried to gain control over the other. The winners were announced Friday morning at Niagara airport, after AJAC members from across the country tested 54 all-new or redesigned 2010 vehicles in 12 classes earlier.

The group winners will now be evaluated back to back in the area, before voting for the overall 2010 Car and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards is complete. Those awards will be announced at the Canadian International Auto Show in February, along with the awards for Best New Technology, and Best Design of the year. The VW Golf Wagon TDI won the Best New Family Car group, while the GTI hatchback triumphed in the Sports/Performance Under $50,000 category, finishing ahead of the powerful, Oshawa-built Chevrolet Camaro SS, which offered double the cylinders and horsepower of the front-wheel-drive German hot hatch. “When I first saw the list of candidates (up against GTI), I went ‘oh oh, this is going to be a fun group,' ” said VW public relations manager Peter Viney. The GTI was up against other enthusiast favourites such as the Hyundai Genesis Coupe and the Mazdaspeed3, in a performance category where it offered the least amount of power of the candidates.
The Audi side of the group triumphed in the Best New Convertible group with the Audi A5 Cabriolet, while the S4 sport sedan won in Sports/Performance Over $50,000 over the Jaguar XFR and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe.

The Porsche Panamera Turbo beat out the much-flashier Audi R8 5.2 V10 exotic car for the Best New Prestige Car award, in Porsche's return to the competition after a multi-year absence. The R8 won not only the Prestige award last year, but also the overall Car of the Year award last year for the regular V8 version, so it came in as a heavy favourite this year to win the class. But the performance of the Panamera Turbo blew away all who tried it, helping voters to overcome some uncertainties on its looks.

Mazda's Mazda3 won both Best New Small Car awards, taking both the over-$21,000 and under-$21,000 classes.Ford was the only Detroit-based auto maker to win an award -- the Ford Taurus took the Best New Family Car award over $30,000 -- although a few in the crowd were lamenting that GM didn't come away with any hardware with some of the best products they have ever produced. The Chrysler Group didn't bring any vehicles to the event.

Two vehicles expected to compete at the competition were unexpectedly disqualified; the BMW Z4 was set to enter the convertible group, but the test vehicles were equipped with manual transmissions, which were not allowed in the group as they make up such a small proportion of buyers. The Lexus HS 250h was also disqualified in the Luxury Car over $50,000 category, as it tops out at a fully loaded $48,900, and arrived with vehicles that cost closer to $41,000.

A complete list of all the winners

SMALL CAR (under $21,000): Mazda3

SMALL CAR (over $21,000): Mazda3 Sport

FAMILY CAR (under $30,000): VW Golf Wagon TDI

FAMILY CAR (over $30,000): Ford Taurus

LUXURY CAR (over $50.000): BMW 335d

PRESTIGE Car (over $75,000): Porsche Panamera Turbo

SPORTS/PERFORMANCE (under $50,000): VW Golf GTI

SPORTS/PERFORMANCE (over $50,000): Audi S4

CONVERTIBLE: Audi A5 Cabriolet

SUV/CUV (under $35,000): Subaru Outback

SUV/CUV ($35,000-$60,000): Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel

SUV/CUV (over $60,000): Lexus RX 450h

.