The Genesis G70 has claimed autoTRADER.ca’s 2019 Overall Top Pick award after a detailed voting process involving our team of award-winning journalists, in a unique process that considered every 2019 vehicle available in Canada.
Unlike some other high-profile Canadian auto awards, every car, truck, or SUV available to consumers was eligible for an autoTRADER.ca Top Pick, whether it was redesigned for 2019 or not. The awards were carefully designed to incorporate detailed scoring from autoTRADER.ca’s large pool of experienced vehicle testers, one of the largest and most experienced such talent pools in Canada, to help consumers choose the vehicle that’s right for them – no matter who sells it, and without requiring its manufacturer to pay for it to be entered into consideration.
“Canadian new car buyers don’t limit their new vehicle purchases to only all-new generation or heavily revised cars, so neither do our Top Picks,” said autoTRADER.ca managing editor Michael Bettencourt. “We want our awards to help as many consumers as possible, so we didn’t exclude any 2019 model, brand, or manufacturer from consideration.”
As such, the 2019 autoTRADER.ca Top Pick Award winners are:
Top Small Car – Honda Civic
The Honda Civic is a former Overall Top Pick award winner, is built in Canada, and has been recognized once again for 2019 for its mix of notable fuel efficiency, diversity of body styles, impressive performance grades, and overall value.
Top Family Car – Honda Accord
The Honda Accord received plaudits from our judges for its sophistication, smooth yet fuel-efficient drivetrains, ample interior room, user-friendly touches throughout, and surprisingly upscale touches.
Top Luxury Car – Genesis G70
The Genesis G70 may not be the most recognizable name or brand in the business, but Hyundai’s relatively new luxury brand offers a seriously compelling alternative to the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class in the G70. Our judges praised its quiet demeanour, available (and rare) manual transmission, rear- or all-wheel drive, and overall balance of comfort and performance.
Top Pickup Truck – Ram 1500
The all-new 2019 Ram 1500 is making a major splash in the full-size pickup market, as buyers and our judges alike appreciated its top-notch comfort, fantastic infotainment system, and even an available mild hybrid system that both adds more power and helps reduce fuel consumption.
Top City Car – Honda Fit
The 2019 Honda Fit has been a perennial top choice amongst buyers who want a car that’s easy to park downtown, but still useful enough to transport major Ikea loads. The Fit’s rear “Magic Seats” can be folded flat down as usual, or the seat bottoms can fold up against the seatback, allowing for ultimate flexibility in such a small vehicle.
Top Compact SUV – Mazda CX-5
There’s not much that the Mazda CX-5 can’t do: look good, carry loads of gear, handle well, or even impress with interior luxuries in higher trims. For 2019, it adds a new available turbocharged engine to the performance mix, with some trims even receiving cylinder deactivation for better fuel economy.
Top Full-size SUV – Chevrolet Traverse
The three-row 2019 Chevrolet Traverse straddles the line between mid- and full-size SUV, its extended length coming in just longer than a Chevrolet Tahoe, offering family-friendly space, seven USB ports for tech-savvy passengers, and impressive fuel efficiency for its size.
Top Luxury Compact SUV – Volvo XC40
The 2019 Volvo XC40 brings the impressively clean and modern interior from Volvo’s larger XC SUVs to a smaller and more city-friendly package, but with playful interior colours that exudes a youthfulness missing in its more sober, pricier models.
Top Luxury Full-size SUV – Volvo XC90
Our 2018 Overall Top Pick still shines for 2019, and the Volvo XC90 came out ahead versus more recently redesigned competition in a mid-year comparison test against some of the most popular three-row luxury SUVs on the market. It drew praise from various testers for its classically good looks inside and out, roomy interior, and advanced powertrains, including a plug-in option.
Top Minivan – Chrysler Pacifica
The built-in-Windsor Chrysler Pacifica shows a palpable faith in the resilience of the minivan market. It offers a luxuriously spacious interior that carves out a supremely comfortable ride for all, while advanced technology for owners and passengers alike such as twin rear touchscreens with kid-friendly apps, and second row seats that fold into the floor are still unique advantages amongst not only other minivans, but other SUVs and family vehicles as well.
Top Sports Car Under $50K – Ford Mustang
As advanced as the turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder that’s available in the 2019 Ford Mustang, there’s really no question that the Mustang with a V8 (in various guises for 2019 now) is really a massive sports car value. With clever touches such as an exhaust that can not only adjust its volume, but also adjust the times of the day that volume can be loud, there’s also an appreciated enthusiast focus on top of its high smiles per dollar ratio.
Top Sports Car Over $50K – Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 is an iconic sports car that has so many varieties along the performance-luxury-sunshine spectrum, it speaks alluringly to the heart of a wide number of sports car enthusiasts. Its closest competition in this class actually came from Porsche’s two-seat 718 Boxter/Cayman mid-engine models.
Top Green Vehicle – Chevrolet Bolt
Despite formidable all-electric competition from the new Hyundai Kona Electric, redesigned Nissan Leaf, and much flashier (and pricier) Jaguar I-Pace crossover, the 2019 Chevrolet Bolt came out ahead for its high-tech interior, its formidable range, and its surprising roominess inside for what’s a relatively small but city-friendly package.
Overall Top Pick – Genesis G70
Looking over the rated score totals for all the above segment winners, the vehicle that stood out the most above its peers ended up being the 2019 Genesis G70 compact luxury sedan. Not only does it offer a unique combination of understated luxury design, impressive powertrains, and an incredible interior, it also offers a unique ownership experience, with Genesis offering to bring you the G70 at your home or office for a test drive, delivery, and even service appointments, where loaner Genesis models will be dropped off in its place.
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