More than 70 judges, 50 cars and trucks, and four days of testing have resulted in the naming of the finalists for the title of 2010 Canadian Car and Utility Vehicle of the Year.

Known as “Testfest”, the judges were all accredited members of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) and their job was to test eligible cars and trucks on a variety of road, track and off-road courses in the Niagara Region.

This is the 26th year the award selection has been held.

There were 12 categories for car and trucks and two for technology.

The 12 category winners announced last Friday, now go on to compete for the honour of becoming the 2010 Canadian Car of the Year or the 2010 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year. These overall winners will be announced on February 11, 2010, at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto.

Award winners for Best New Design and Best New Technology, presented by Shell Canada, will also be announced at that time.

In addition, an award for Best New Green Technology for 2010, also presented by Shell Canada, will be announced at the Montreal International Auto Show on January 14, 2010.

Category winners for 2010 were:

SMALL CAR (under $21k)

Winner: Mazda3. Also nominated were: Hyundai Elantra Touring and Kia Forte Koup.

SMALL CAR (over $21k)

Winner: Mazda3 Sport. Also nominated were: Honda Insight, Kia Forte, Kia Soul, Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback, Nissan Cube, Volkswagen Golf.

FAMILY CAR (under $30k)

Winner: Volkswagen Golf Wagon. Also nominated were: Ford Fusion, Subaru Legacy Sedan and Toyota Prius.

FAMILY CAR (over $30k)

Winner: Ford Taurus. Also nominated were: Buick LaCrosse and Ford Fusion Hybrid.

LUXURY CAR (over $50k)

Winner: BMW 335d Sedan. Also nominated were: Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon and Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan.

PRESTIGE (over $75k)

Winner: Porsche Panamera. Also nominated were: Audi R8 (V10), BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid.

SPORTS / PERFORMANCE (under $50k)

Winner: Volkswagen Golf GTI. Also nominated were: Ford Taurus SHO, Chevrolet Camaro, Hyundai Genesis Coupe Mazdaspeed3 and Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart.

SPORTS / PERFORMANCE (over $50k)

Winner: Audi S4. Also nominated were: Jaguar XFR, Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe.

CONVERTIBLES

Winner: Audi A5 Cabriolet. Also nominated were: Nissan 370Z Roadster and Lexus IS Convertible.

SUV/CUV (under $35k)

Winner: Subaru Outback. Also nominated were: Chevrolet Equinox and Toyota Venza.

SUV/CUV ($35k-$60k)

Winner: Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel. Also nominated were: Acura ZDX, Audi Q5, GMC Terrain, Mercedes-Benz GLK350 4MATIC, Lexus RX350 and Volvo XC60.

SUV CUV (over $60k)

Winner: Lexus RX450h. Also nominated were: Acura MDX, Audi Q7, Lincoln MKT and Cadillac SRX.

Yet to be announced are:

BEST NEW TECHNOLOGY

Audi Canada Inc. Audi Drive Select, Ford Motor Company of Canada MyKey, Mercedes-Benz - Attention Assist, Toyota/Lexus Remote Touch, Toyota / Lexus Touch Tracer, Volvo City Safety

BEST NEW GREEN TECHNOLOGY

Ford Next generation Hybrid system and SmartGauge, Mercedes - S400 hybrid with lithium-ion batteries, Toyota/Lexus Beltless Atkinson-cycle engine with cooled-exhaust, Toyota/Lexus Plant-based Ecological Plastics, Toyota/Lexus Solar Panel Moonroof and Remote Air Conditioning.

Metroland Newspapers had autojournalists Rob Beintema, Lorne Drury and Jim Robinson on site for the full four days of testing. Here are their comments and projections.

Rob Beintema:

With three diesels and a hybrid among the category winners after the dust had settled, there was clearly a new sensibility evident at this year's 2010 Canadian Car of the Year Awards TestFest.

And each of those alternatively-powered entries, the VW Golf Wagon TDI, the BMW 335d, the VW Touareg TDI and Lexus RX450h hybrid, have a shot at taking overall honours.

My personal picks might seem to fly in the face of those new realities at first.

But, despite a near-unattainable price and the breast-beating and moaning of nay-saying traditionalists about the heresy of a four-door sports car, the overwhelming combined qualities of the Porsche Panamera make it a hard-to-refuse choice for 2010 Canadian Car of the Year.

And, on the other hand, the more practically priced Subaru Outback has evolved with enough sport utility design DNA to shift from its original crossover wagon beginnings to earn the merit of 2010 Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year.

Lorne Drury:

Every year at Testfest, I'm amazed at the number of truly great vehicles that are being produced these days, making a choice for car and truck of the year so difficult.

Like my colleague Jim Robinson, I also had the Mazda3 as my Canadian Car of the Year. It's amazing value for a car under $21,000 that has the features and capability of ones priced several thousand dollars more.

Meanwhile, the Porsche Panamera is a truly outstanding car, but with a price tag above $150,000, it's out of the reach of 99 per cent of the car buyers out there. The two cars came out in a virtual dead heat on my score sheet.

On the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year front, any of the three contenders could be the winner. My vote goes to the hybrid Lexus RX450h, with the Volkswagen Touareg TDI Clean Diesel and Subaru Outback close behind. On price alone, however, the Outback is the best value. It is priced just over $30,000, about half the sticker on the other two contenders.

Jim Robinson:

Maybe I'm too biased towards vehicles made in Canada but I couldn't believe the Buick LaCrosse, Acura MDX and, especially, the Chevrolet Equinox didn't win something. On the other hand, the Ford Taurus is great value for the dollar and the Lincoln MKT was a surprise for its sophistication.

When it comes to overall 2010 Car of the Year, the Mazda3 at under $21,000 gets my vote for all the features it has for the price. Likewise, the VW Golf GT1 has to be a contender. But when the dust settles it will be the Porsche Panamera.

For overall Utility Vehicle of the Year it comes down to the smallest car company on the planet, Subaru with the Outback, up against one of the biggest, Volkswagen, with the Touareg TDI Clean Diesel. With price not being a factor, I give it to the Touareg.

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