TestFest offers cars, trucks and track treats
Gathering of Car-of-the-Year '04 candidates seeks out best new vehicles in intense process

It seems as easy as dripping free food on yourself for an experienced group of auto journalists: Pick the best new vehicles of the class of 2004. That's the premise behind the Auto Journalists Association of Canada's (AJAC) annual festival of wall-to-wall comparison testing or TestFest as it's commonly known. Hey, we've been at this for years, plus we've driven or at least received info on the 59 all-new '04s by now. Should be simple, right?

Each vehicle is made available for track testing (pity those squealing tires) and road evaluations in and around the track (pity those leaf-raking residents). It's the most concentrated hit of ready-to-drive sweet automotive treats collected in this country.

This year, GM took the participation gold medal by supplying 43 vehicles for the event (two or three examples of each vehicle were available) - obviously GM's product onslaught shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

Yet the biggest news was Toyota Canada's return to this year's TestFest-ivities after a six-year absence. Toyota's inclusion means that every full-line manufacturer selling vehicles in Canada is now represented at TestFest.

Some high-end European makes like Porsche and Ferrari, however, are still unfortunately absent.

Still, there's no doubt that the awards are unique and this year even more valuable to prospective car shoppers with Toyota joining in. Just remember that "Best New" means best all-new or significantly redesigned vehicle, which can be, but is not necessarily the best 2004 vehicle available in its class.

Okay, now for the fun part: Guessing the winners. Category winners will be revealed December 2, while overall Canadian Car and Truck of the Year awards are handed out in February just before the Canadian International Auto Show's public opening. The votes that journalists submit then go through a sliding 'value' scale by an accounting company that factors price into its competency scores, meaning pricier vehicles have to score better than lower priced ones to merit equal or better final scores.

But if you can't wait, here's a very unscientific prognostication of potential winners and my personal favourites.

ECONOMY: The Mazda3 sedan was a knockout to everyone that drove it and will likely be a frontrunner for overall Car of the Year. But the Toyota Echo Hatchback was also a lot of fun, plus it has a price advantage over the Mazda3.

FAMILY VEHICLE: The Malibu, Mazda6 and Mitsubishi Galant are very close in terms of refinement, spaciousness and pricing, with the Mazda the handler of the group. Daewoo-derived models from Chevrolet and Suzuki had great inline-6 engines, but lagged otherwise. Toyota's Prius was very refined and most futuristic, but not always in good ways.

SPORTS COUPE/SEDAN UNDER $35K: The Mazda3 Sport, the hatchback version with larger wheels and tires, again made a great showing. Acura's TSX looked best inside and handled beautifully as well.

SPORTS COUPE/SEDAN OVER $35K: The Audi S4 was by far the performance champ here, but also the priciest. Infiniti's sexy G35, sounded great and was relatively inexpensive. The Acura TL sedan was both practical and powerful, so it might be a player here as well.

LUXURY CAR: No clear favourite emerged in this group of scrumptious $70,000-$110,000 auto aristocrats, but look for BMW's 5 Series to take this one, based on its low (for this group) price and outstanding dynamics.

MPV/CROSSOVER: The Cadillac SRX and Infiniti FX45 appear to be most popular in this on-road-only category.

MINIVANS: It's a two-horse race between Toyota's Sienna and Nissan's Quest, with the Toyota my bet to come through as the winner. Ford's Freestar is light years better than its predecessor, yet its larger engine is still much less refined than the Japanese duo.

SPORT-UTILITY: Like many other categories, there was a diverse group of vehicles in this group. Subaru's Forester 2.5 XT was the smallest and nimblest of this motley crew, and least expensive, The VW Touareg and Lincoln Aviator were nice, but way up the pricing scale.

PICKUP TRUCK: Okay, I'll admit, I didn't drive any of these, not with a full complement of cute, quirky and eyeball-pleasing cars ready for track action. Going over the performance numbers, the Nissan Titan smoked all others in zero to 100 km/h acceleration, although the Ford F-150 Limited I drove recently had by far the nicest interior of any pickup on the market.

SPORTS/PERFORMANCE: Any one of these puppies and a sunny weekend will fulfill almost any auto fantasy out there. The Mercedes SL55's incredible thrust and refinement at any rpm was mesmerizing, the Nissan 350Z Roadster's top-down fun quotient was as entertaining as any amusement park, and the Dodge Viper's edgy explosiveness was, well, explosive.

2004 AJAC candidate list

ECONOMY CAR
Chevrolet Aveo (LS)
Chevrolet Optra (LS)
Mazda3
Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback LS
Saturn ION Quad Coupe (ION 2)
Suzuki Swift+
Toyota Echo Hatchback

FAMILY VEHICLE
Chevrolet Epica (LS)
Chevrolet Malibu (LS)
Mazda6
Mitsubishi Galant LS
Nissan Maxima
Suzuki Verona
Toyota Prius

LUXURY CAR
Audi A8
BMW 5 Series
Cadillac XLR
Jaguar XJRv M-B CLK-Class Cabriolet

SPORTS COUPE/SEDAN < $35,000
Acura TSX
Dodge SRT-4
Mazda3 Sport
Pontiac Grand Prix
Toyota Solara

SPORTS COUPE/SEDAN > $35,000
Acura TL
Audi S4
Audi TT 3.2
Chrysler Crossfire
Infiniti G35 Coupe

SPORTS/PERFORMANCE
Chevrolet SSR
Dodge Viper SRT-10
Mazda RX-8
M-B SL55 AMG
Nissan 350Z Roadster
Subaru Impreza WRX STi
Volvo S60 R

MPV/CROSSOVER
Cadillac SRX (V8)
Chrysler Pacifica
Honda Element
Infiniti FX45
Lexus RX 330
M-B E-Class Wagon (4MATIC)
Mitsubishi Endeavor Limited

MINIVAN
Dodge Sprinter
Ford Freestar
Nissan Quest
Toyota Sienna

SPORT-UTILITY VEHICLE
Buick Rainier (V8)
Dodge Durango
Lincoln Aviator
Nissan Pathfinder Armada
Subaru Forester 2.5 XT
VW Touareg


PICKUP TRUCK
Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon
Dodge RAM 2500
Dodge RAM 3500
Ford F-150
Nissan Titan