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Hyundai, Porsche double category winners of AJAC Car of Year Canada awards

Chris Eastwood on December 3, 2014

2015 Hyundai Genesis sedan
The Hyundai Genesis sedan was one of the AJAC Canadian Car of the Year category winners announced yesterday. Photos by Benjamin Yong.

Hyundai and Porsche were among the brands that came up big yesterday, with double wins each, when the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) announced their “Best New” category winners for the 2015 Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY) awards.

The 2015 Hyundai Sonata took best family car over $30,000 and the Genesis sedan the best luxury car over $50,000, and on the Porsche side the 911 Turbo S won the prestige/performance over $75,000 category with the Macan S receiving the nod for the SUV/CUV over $60,000.

“The Sonata is one smooth sedan, doing all the things it needs to do right. Good power, even from the base 2.4 litre, smooth transmission, quiet and comfortable with plenty of space inside and the trunk. The new interior looks sharp, stereo and controls are easy to use and the seats are comfortable. Much wow for such an unassuming everyday segment,” said one of the journalists that evaluated the car at TestFest. This year, 49 new vehicle models were tested across 15 categories.

Other notable mentions include the Honda Fit (small car under $21,000), the Volkswagen Golf (small car over $21,000), the BMW M235i (sports/performance under $50,000) and the Toyota Highlander (SUV/CUV between $35,000 and $60,000).

The overall 2015 AJAC Canadian Car of the Year and Truck of the Year recipients will be announced at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto in February.

More details about some of the winners (as tested):

2015 Hyundai Sonata

Engine: 2.4 L four cylinder
Horsepower: 185
Torque (lb-ft): 178
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Fuel consumption (city/highway L/100 km): 9.8/6.7

2015 Hyundai Genesis

Engine: 3.8 L V6
Horsepower: 311
Torque (lb-ft): 293
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption (city/highway L/100 km): 14.4/9.4

2015 Volkswagen Golf

Engine: 1.8 L four cylinder
Horsepower: 180
Torque (lb-ft): 185
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Fuel consumption: 9.3/6.5

2015 Porsche 911 Turbo S

Engine: 3.8 L V6
Horsepower: 560
Torque (lb-ft): 553
Transmission: PDK seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption: 13.7/9.6

2015 Porsche Macan S

Engine: 3.0 L V6
Horsepower: 340
Torque (lb-ft): 339
Transmission: PDK seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption: 13.7/10.3

2015 Honda Fit

2015 Honda Fit

Engine: 1.5 L four cylinder
Horsepower: 130
Torque (lb-ft): 114
Transmission: CVT
Fuel consumption: 7.3/6.1

2015 BMW M235i

Engine: 3.0 L six cylinder turbo
Horsepower: 320
Torque (lb-ft): 332
Transmission: six-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 11.9/8.5

OpenRoad Auto Group’s new Porsche retail centre now open

Chris Eastwood on November 3, 2014

VANCOUVER, November 1, 2014 – OpenRoad Auto Group officially opens the doors to its newest dealership: Porsche Centre Langley. The new Porsche retail centre is the group’s 15th location in the Metro Vancouver area, and is located in the Langley Auto Collection, Canada’s only all-luxury auto mall.

The new 42,000 square-foot facility houses a showroom that can display up to 18 of the latest Porsche models and a 14-bay service area complete with a handpicked team of certified staff.

“When we started this project nearly three years ago, we wanted to create more than just a Porsche retail centre,” said Christian Chia, President and CEO of the OpenRoad Auto Group.

“We committed to building a unique community here — comprised of passionate people, beautifully engineered cars, exceptional levels of knowledge, and an avenue to build that on through motorsports experiences.”

In fact, the OpenRoad Racing team and its professional racecar driver Scott Hargrove recently finished the season with a victory at the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Canada.

Porsche Centre Langley joins the existing BMW and MINI Langley and OpenRoad Infiniti at the Langley Auto Collection, with Jaguar Land Rover to follow in the coming months. For more information about Porsche Centre Langley and other brands, visit openroadautogroup.com. 

Your Invitation to Porsche Centre Langley

OpenRoad Auto Group invites you to an exclusive viewing of Porsche Centre Langley. Take a personal guided tour of the facility and join us for a casual afternoon of fine local wine, refreshments and live music.

Guests will have a chance to meet Scott Hargrove from OpenRoad Racing, winner of the 2014 GT3 Porsche Cup Challenge Canada Championship, and be entered in a draw to win a weekend getaway for two in a Porsche.

Dates: Saturday, Nov. 8 and Nov. 29

Time: 2 to 5 p.m.

Place: Porsche Centre Langley — 6016 Collection Drive, Langley (intersection of Langley Bypass and Glover Road)

RSVP: porschelangley.com

 

For more information, please contact:

OpenRoad Auto Group Ltd.

marketing@openroadautogroup.com

Porsche Performance Tour 2014: day one

Benjamin Yong on October 8, 2014

Registration area for the Porsche Performance Tour 2014 driving event. Photos by Benjamin Yong.

For the first time, Porsche Cars Canada’s Performance Tour visits the Vancouver area. The three-day event provides a driver experience focused on a handful of vehicles: the classic Porsche 911 Carrera S, the mid-engined Cayman and the brand new 2015 Porsche Macan luxury crossover SUV.

On the first day, guests gathered at Vancouver International Airport for introductions before setting off for the first group activity — offroading in the Macans at a special course in the Callaghan Valley region near Whistler. People piled in either the 400-horsepower Carrera or the 275-hp Cayman for the drive up (both equipped with Porsche’s Doppelkupplung PDK dual-clutch transmission), testing out the suspension through twisty bits along the Sea-to-Sky Highway. 

Once at the offroad course, there were a choice of Macans available: the S model with 340 hp/339 lb-ft of torque or the Turbo with 400 hp/406 lb-ft. Both tackled the steep hills, muddy dips and rock-covered surfaces admirably without any instances of anyone getting seriously stuck. That was partly due to the all-wheel drive system and gadgetry such as hill descent control (automatically slows the vehicle down on declines, allowing the driver to concentrate on steering) and an off-road mode (raises suspension height to give 9.1 inches of clearance, softens steering input, modifies torque distribution, etc.), but mostly it was because of the expert guidance of Porsche driving instructor Kees Nierop and his team.

Drivers paired up for the exercise and switched so that everyone got an opportunity to test out the crossover and all the new technologies. Afterwards, the Macans were shuttled back to a gathering spot and the drivers retired to Whistler for the evening to conclude the first day’s activites. There’s more to come, but here are some pictures to enjoy until then: