Day 2
After that first whirlwind day, you wouldn’t think it could get any more hectic, right? Wrong. While I had two smaller categories to complete, I wanted to finish them both on Tuesday so I could sneak into another performance category before the doors were opened to video crews and non-voting journalists.
 Vehicles in the SUV/CUV categories. Click image to enlarge |
Today, I had the privilege of pairing up with Autos.ca’s founder (okay, founded as CanadianDriver.com, of course) and Contributing Editor (emeritus) Paul Williams for the SUV/CUV Under $35K category. When first walking up to the vehicles in this category, lined up in the parking lot and awaiting testing, I had a moment of déjà vu, thinking back to our recent Crossover Comparison Test that featured half of the entrants (Escape, CR-V, and Santa Fe) in this category. Upon closer inspection, these crossovers were more basic versions none even breaking the 200-hp mark in their need to stay under $35K.
Also, being crossovers, we decided to skip the handling course—normally there is an off-road course for off-road vehicles, but an unanticipated ownership change meant a last-minute cancellation of that venue. We also changed up our route, first taking the CR-V and Santa Fe through a more rural setting than the return highway portion, and also taking them along a concrete road with buckled and patched sections that was almost as good as any engineered proving-ground surface for feeling the chassis’ response to large and small surface modulations. Not surprisingly, we found these vehicles incredibly comfortable for the most part, and a welcome relief on driver switches after the contortions necessary to squeeze into some of the small performance cars (say what you will about the BRZ and FR-S, but don’t say they are easy to get in and out of).
Beyond the testing merit of the route, I experienced a moment of breathtaking appreciation of the beauty of this region, no less because of its unexpected timing. Between some of the main roads of Niagara-on-the-Lake, there was a stretch of quiet, mist-blanketed fields on one side and a perfect stone cottage with a small vineyard property on the other side. I returned later with a vehicle for a nice photo op, but the original moment of discovery was so intense, that I just wanted to pull over and take in the serene beauty of this seemingly untainted vision of idyllic repast.
 Porsche 911. Click image to enlarge |
But the crunch was on and we swapped and drove and swapped and drove and completed the remaining SUVs and Crossovers by lunchtime. If you ask me, all these vehicles are thoroughly competent, from the car-like XV Crosstrek and the surprisingly comfortable and competent Trax to the efficient and nimble (but underpowered) CX-5. The Escape 1.6 EcoBoost took the category, no surprise, since it offers an impressive list of equipment, good power from an efficient turbocharged engine, and an excellent balance of comfort and handling.
After lunch I was flying solo in the Small Car Over $21K category. I quickly took each one for a loop, plus the handling course, and the Elantra GT impressed overall as much as it did in our recent Compact Comparison, and I wasn’t surprised to see it won the category. I was surprised that the VW Beetle TDI was as fun to drive as it was— it was easily the best on the closed course, its big torque numbers helping it launch out of the many tight turns. And in the Mazda3 Sport, the same 2.0L SkyActiv-G that seems inadequate in the CX-5 really shone, having just the right sweet spot in terms of power.
While I could have called it a day after completing that category, I re-drove the Focus ST as I had come to some very opposite conclusions from other journalists who had driven that category. I’m glad I did, because it cemented my opinion that this car is borderline dangerous and even more fun than I first gave it credit for. Especially after driving the numb, slow steering of the compact cars, the Focus ST turned in with lightning quick reaction times, but its intensely grippy rubber handled it, and it scares me to think what someone with too much testosterone or adrenaline and without any advanced driver training might do. But damn, was it ever fun!
