Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. celebrates a significant step toward barrier-free international trade by reducing the manufacturer suggested retail price (MSRP) of many Hyundai models.
The 2015 North American International Auto Show was full of concept cars from mild (Volkswagen Cross Coupe GTE), to wild (Hyundai Santa Cruz) in Detroit.
Hyundai will be the first to offer the Canadian public access to a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, in the form of a new Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle.
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):
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
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
Engine: 1.8 L four cylinder
Horsepower: 180
Torque (lb-ft): 185
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Fuel consumption: 9.3/6.5
Engine: 3.8 L V6
Horsepower: 560
Torque (lb-ft): 553
Transmission: PDK seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption: 13.7/9.6
Engine: 3.0 L V6
Horsepower: 340
Torque (lb-ft): 339
Transmission: PDK seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption: 13.7/10.3
Engine: 1.5 L four cylinder
Horsepower: 130
Torque (lb-ft): 114
Transmission: CVT
Fuel consumption: 7.3/6.1
Engine: 3.0 L six cylinder turbo
Horsepower: 320
Torque (lb-ft): 332
Transmission: six-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 11.9/8.5
To kick off the Las Vegas SEMA Show earlier this month, an automotive trade show that brings together aftermarket parts industry representatives from all over the world, an awards ceremony was held to crown the industry’s hottest vehicles.
Accepting the title of Hottest Sport Compact was the new Honda Fit, the small four-door hatchback recently entering its third generation. The company brought out nine personalized versions of the subcompact — six were built by tuners for the 2015 Fit Performance Project and documented on the social networking website Tumblr.
Honda performance specialist Spoon Sports USA created the Super Taikyu (Endurance) Fit, unmistakable due to the heavily featured signature blue and yellow paint scheme. Not surprisingly, most of the new parts “fitted” on the car are made by Spoon, including a titanium exhaust, brake rotors, calipers, pads and lines, suspension, aero mirrors and sunroof delete. The body aero, though, is made by Honda, and the wheels are 15×7 CE28 Club Racers by Volk Racing.
Hyundai collaborated with Bisimoto Engineering for the third consecutive time to build something that not only looks good, but more importantly, goes fast to show at SEMA. This year, it’s a 700-plus horsepower sedan. Using the 2015 Sonata as a canvas, the original 2.4-litre engine has been massaged with forged pistons, a high-revving valve train, high-boost turbocharger and more. The exterior features a custom laminated body wrap, body kit, 18-inch wheels and a Burns stainless steel exhaust system.
Roadster enthusiasts the world over held their collective breath when the redesigned 2016 Mazda MX-5 was revealed in September. After having the question ‘What will it look like?” answered, the next most popular query was “Where will it race?” At a global announcement during SEMA, Mazda responded with the announcement of a new 2016 Global MX-5 Cup racing series to take place in North America, Europe and Asia.
Although Mazda provided no information on specs or equipment other than confirming a 2.0 L SKYACTIV-G four-cylinder engine will be used, they did have a cup car on display. Enjoy the pictures.
With the B.C. teacher’s strike officially over, the topic of back-to-school is finally again on people’s minds. Below, we’ve compiled a top three list of practical — and more importantly, fun — cars for students.
