I wasn't going to bother posting, because somebody posts every year (and writes AJAC too) with the same thing. And nothing changes.
Yes there's lots of ammunition to show how AJAC is superior, and I agree, however "the chain is only as strong as its weakest link". Which, to create relevance (for people looking to buy/lease) and some balance, means having at least the previous year's winners (if not 2 years) in each active category back to undergo this: " each vehicle is driven back-to-back on the same day, in the same conditions and on the same roads". Either this is considered a very important part of the AJAC testing, or it isn't. Can't be both ways.
I also think the manufacturers have the "formula" figured out re: how AJAC factors in price. Which is to say, not much. The deal has become piling on as much stuff as possible to use up all the price cap in that category and massage the ratings in their favour, to override a car that is much cheaper and fairly close in the individual categories.
I agree, manufactures have figured out where to put the car, and which trim to give it a better chance. It should be up to the all powerful ajac, to select the model and trim, to put the car in the proper category, without duplicates, unless a different engine was being used. I also like the idea of using the winner from previous years as a benchmark to see how the competition is catching up. I find the best type of reviews, are the long term test drives, where the car has at least 2500km on it, ideally not the most practical, but I have read many reviews like this. The day to day ones are quite good too, and the comparision tests!
I also like the used car reviews here on Autos, but find they wait until the next generation of that car is out before they review it. So for example, there is no review on a 2009-2012 Mazda6, because the 2013 is not here yet. As an alternative, I have to check Consumer Reports, they can claim similar things to Ajac, not for profit, but its nice that they offer reliability history, and drive the cars for more than a week.
By pooling all the resources available, Ajac test, autos.ca, consumer reports, and test drives, we are fortunate to have the necessary information to make an informed decision. I don't agree with some of the winners on ajac, but by looking at how they got their scores, I research to see whether it's deserved or not, like the Subaru Crosstek, not deserved IMHO.
