Day-by-Day Review: Testfest in Niagara

By James Bergeron

Photo Gallery:
2010 Testfest Gallery

Day 1:

Click Image to Enlarge Testfest photo by Greg Wilson

This week I am not driving just one car, I am going to sample at least 14 vehicles and perhaps even more, as I attend my first ever Testfest, in Niagara-on-the-lake Ontario. What is Testfest exactly? To summarize quickly: it is the one week every year where all AJAC (Automobile Journalists Association of Canada) members who do regular test drives congregate and test every new or substantially redesigned vehicle back-to-back, in order to name one the Canadian Car of The Year.

This is my first time attending the event, so you will get to learn along with me about the process and some of the vehicles competing here in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

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There is quite a large list of vehicles to test (53, to be exact) in 12 categories. Obviously, there just is not enough time for everyone to test every car, so we have been assigned vehicles and categories which we must evaluate before 5pm on Wednesday. Once we have tested all of our assigned vehicles, we are free to test other cars if we desire and if time permits.

I am assigned to Prestige (over $75k) which includes: Audi R8 5.2FSI, BMW 750i, Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid and the Porsche Panamera. Not a bad list of dream cars, if I do say so myself. I am also responsible for Sports/Performance (under $50k) which includes: Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Taurus SHO, Hyundai Genesis Coupe, Mazdaspeed3, Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart and the Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Last, but not least, I’ll need to tackle Convertibles on a sunny day. This category includes: Audi A5 Cabriolet, BMW Z4 Roadster, Lexus IS350C and the Nissan 370Z Roadster.

The full list of eligible vehicles is available on AJAC’s website.

Visit this blog daily for updates — this should be an exciting week!

Day 2:

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My first day at Testfest was certainly a lot of things: exciting, hectic, tiring and fun all rolled into one day that just flew by. I managed to drive 11 cars; had I realized dinner was at 7:00 and not 5:00 I would have probably driven 12 or 13 — live and learn! The weather forcast for today was for cloud and for tomorrow rain so I made a point of testing the convertibles today as well as the Prestige over $75k, so I spent my day in luxury cars… not bad.

Although it was a treat to drive the Audi R8, S4 and Porsche Panamera around the track (to name a few) it certainly makes for some tough choices when voting as you really are splitting hairs when it comes to things like interior confort, quality and design.

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I drove all the convertibles in the category. Rumour has it the BMW Z4 was disqualified because they entered a manual when the others entered automatics (don’t ask me I’m not on the board of directors). That left the Lexus IS 350C, the Audi A5 Cabriolet and the Nissan 370Z Roadster. The first two, have a similar target market — luxury convertible — while the Z sits by itself as the lone sports car. On the road, I enjoyed the Lexus the most, which surprised me. The hardtop convertible made for a quiet ride top up, and top down, wind was channelled cleanly. On the track, the 370Z was the clear winner to me, which puts the Audi in the middle as good both on road and track — tough category to predict a winner in, but my guess is the A5.

The next set of cars I drove were in the Prestige over $75k category. This category, once again, is interesting, consisting of three large luxurious vehicles: the Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid, the BMW 750i and the Porsche Panamera, plus a lone wolf of a pure sports machine, the Audi R8 5.2 FSI (V10). The first three cars differ quite a bit, although one could argue the 7 Series and the Porsche have similar aspirations of sporting luxury.

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The Merc was just not my cup of tea, as it’s a very soft and large sedan that coddles but is also a technological wonder — too soft for my liking, although visibility was great compared to the rest of the vehicles I drove. The BMW 7 Series was a fun car to throw around on the track. With four-wheel steering it was very agile, more so than you would expect from such a large sedan. On the road, the BMW was nearly as comfortable as the Mercedes-Benz while providing a more sporty edge when asked for. As many would expect, the R8 was phenomenal on the track — extremely fast, perfectly balanced and easy to drive; on the road, it can be a cruiser as well, but it does have a hard edge to it. With respect to visibility, let’s just say you will be seen but you may not be able to see.

The Porsche Panamera was the surprise of the day. I expected it to be similar to the 7 Series as that seems to be its target. But it was not only as good as the 7 Series on the road; it was as good, if not better than, the R8 on the track. A double threat, the Panamera impressed everyone who drove it. Turn-in was incredible and the speed you could carry through the fast corners was unbelievable, but you can also drive your kids to school on Monday… amazing.

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I also grabbed the keys to the cars in the Sport / Performance over $50k category today. This category includes the Jaguar XFR, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe and the Audi S4. After stepping out of the prestige category, this one was even more impressive, with vehicles for half the price that were only a hair shy from being as good. The Jaguar XFR, with an as-tested price of approximately $85,000, seemed like a bargain, with lots of power and quiet luxury on the inside. The highway drive was great, though the track drive not so much, as it felt too heavy and the traction and stability control systems were too intrusive. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class coupe, at around $71,000, seemed even better at first; although the interior is not as luxurious as the Jag’s it is well put together. On the track, the Merc is fun to drive as well. The Audi S4 is a clear winner in my mind, with an as tested price of only $55,000. It was just screamingly quick on the track with an incredible chassis, and on the road it was quiet and refined!

Tomorrow I’ll be starting my day with the Sports / Performance under $50k category. These are the types of vehicles that driving enthusiasts buy, and they are more of what I suspect I and my readers are looking forward to most– although one can’t complain about the high-dollar fun that was had today.

Day 3:

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Today was a litttle less hectic than yesterday, despite the rain slowing everyone. Down lots of testing continued, I myself completed testing another 11 cars. I started off the day as planned, completing the $50k sports performance category,then I headed to the small cars under $21k category, and finished the day in family cars over $30k.

My first car of the day was the Camaro SS. It impressed me with its on-road smoothness and effortless engine, and it even did well on the track in the rain, but I am still not a fan of the interior, and I don’t think it will take this category because of it. Next was the Hyundai Genesis coupe, the other rear-wheel drive competitor in the class. The 3.8-litre V6 model was entered; this car was noticeably lighter-feeling the Camaro, and the chassis felt stiffer than I had expected as well. It was a real treat out on the road as it cruised quietly with a comfortable ride. Its on-track handling was also great but the intrusive ESP system was a disappointment.

Next I went for the front-wheel drive pair back-to-back: the Volkswagen Golf GTI and the Mazdaspeed3. The GTI impressed everywhere and many said it was their favourite in the category. I loved it on the track until I grabbed my next car; after 20 mintutes on road with the Mazdaspeed3 I was sure the torque steer would be a huge detriment on the track, but it turned out to be barely noticeable, plus the chassis is so well-balanced. These are two front wheel drive cars that are not handicapped on the track at all.

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The two all-wheel drive cars were last. The Ford Taurus SHO — which really did not fit well in the category — and the Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback Ralliart. The Taurus is heavy and you feel it. It does make a great car about town and on the highway, yes, but a sports/performance car it is not. The Lancer Ralliart is a great car and it certainly can be wild with its trick differentials, but on the road it is too harsh and boy-racer-ish. Tough call for this category; I think the Hyundai may get it but it will be close between the GTI and Mazda as well.

Part of our duty is to also vote on overall Car of the Year, and to do so, we need to drive every category winner by week’s end. To help myself along, rather than guess at the winners, I started driving all vehicles in categories to save time over Thursday and Friday. I completed the small cars under $21k category; first up was the Hyundai Elantra Touring, which I thought was refined and surprisingly sporty, and good value for its price of just under $21k.

Then I jumped into the Kia Forte Koup. I just test drove this car so I was familiar with it, but the rules state that we need to drive them here, so I did. Even in automatic form, I cannot get used to the Koup’s touchy throttle, and I spun the tires leaving stop lights and out of the parking lot. On the road it was fine and on the track about the same as the Elantra. Next, I stepped into the Mazda3. I turned out of the parking lot and for me the decision was made: I had to reconfirm I was driving a vehicle worth less than $21,000, and I was. The Mazda3 was spectacular on road and on the track and the interior quality is far superior.

Last, but not least, were Family cars over $30,000. I spent time in the Buick Lacrosse, the Ford Taurus and the Ford Fusion Hybrid; all are equally great family cars, but I need a winner. Value-wise, the Buick looks like the clear winner, although the Fusion’s hybrid powertrain is a bonus and its fuel consumption is remarkable. We will find out Friday who won what!

Day 4:

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I will admit that I am not much of a gambling man, but today, that is what I was forced to do. As part of this process, each journalist must drive each category winner and submit their votes on these cars by the end of the day on Friday. With 53 cars in 12 categories, it is impossible to drive every one of them. On Friday the category winners will be announced, but there are only three vehicles of each type to sample and with perhaps 60-plus journalists here, it will be a mad scramble to get all the required testing done by end of day.

Before today I had squared away six categories, ensuring at worst case I would need to drive six cars on Friday. Today I finished off two more categories: SUVs under $35,000 and Luxury Cars over $50,000. This means, worst case, I have to drive four cars on Friday. This is where the gambling comes in — for the rest of the day I attempted to drive vehicles that I thought had a chance of winning their categories. I did not get to all the categories, and as it sits, my best case scenario on Friday is that I only have to drive two cars.

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What did I drive today? As mentioned I started off with SUV’s under $35,000, which consists of Subaru Outback, Toyota Venza and Chevrolet Equinox. A small category, so I decided to not gamble and just drive them all. They were all close; I give the nudge to the Venza but I really enjoyed the Equinox and would not be surprised at all if it came out victorious.

Next, I decided to complete the Luxury Cars over $50,000, which includes the BMW 335d sedan, the Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan. To be honest I actually did not drive the Mercedes based on comments that made the BMW sound like the sure winner, but I drove the CTS as I feel it is also a strong competitor. As much as the Mercedes-Benz is a great car and don’t want to say “I hope it loses,” I just did not have time to drive it, so I’m betting against it.

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Another large category with some tough competition is SUV/CUVs between $35k and $60k. With seven vehicles, I took a stab and drove the Audi Q5, the Mercedes-Benz GLK350 and the Acura ZDX. Everyone seemed to enjoy the ZDX’s driving dynamics, including myself, but interior space is limited and in this category that is a major factor. The Audi Q5 seems to hit all the right buttons, so I’m betting on it as the winner. I drove the Benz as I feel it is the most stylish and it also presents great value in the segment and I actually liked it the most.

Another tough category to choose a winner from is the Best New Family Car (under $30,000) category. This one features the Ford Fusion, the Subaru Legacy Sedan, the Toyota Prius and the Golf Wagon in TDI form. At the end of the day, I had a good feeling the Golf was going to take the category so I grabbed the keys; another journalist convinced me that despite everyone’s love for the Golf, he thinks the Prius will win, so I ended my day in the Prius, “just in case.”

Tomorrow, the winners are announced at 10am EST. Look for the news story on CanadanDriver around that time — hint hint.

Picture Gallery: 2010 Testfest Gallery     | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Discuss

Day 5:

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The week is over and it was a crazy one indeed! I ended up having to drive three vehicles on Friday, but I was done by noon and on my way home by 1:00 p.m. after putting in my votes for car of the year! Some of the winners were a surprise to me, but for the most part I guessed correctly. This was one of the great years for Testfest with so many great cars competing for top honours. The AJAC Canadian Car of the Year category winners are listed here.

I had a great week and despite everyone complaining (including myself) about having to drive so many cars in a relatively short time, well, let’s all be honest: almost anyone reading this is thinking, “poor babies, having to drive all those cars.” Yup, as hard as it is, in the end it’s still a really cool way to spend a week!

The Canadian Car of the Year and the Utility Vehicle of the year will be announced at the Canadian International Autoshow in Toronto in February. You can check out all the results and track how each vehicle did on AJAC’s website.