  2014 AJAC CCOTY Luxury and Performance Cars. Click image to enlarge |
Review and photos by Autos.ca staff
Every fall, the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) organizes its Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY) and Canadian Utility of the Year (CUOTY) vehicle testing: TestFest. At TestFest we test dozens of new models, from the economical and affordable Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Versa Note up to exclusive prestige vehicles like the Merc S-Class and Land Rover Range Rover, or adrenaline-inducing sports cars like the new Corvette Stingray and Jaguar F-Type.
First, we covered the big sales categories in Small Cars and Family Cars, SUVs and crossovers, plus the pickups, but now it is time for the cars that get the blood boiling or the senses tingling: Luxury and performance cars. Of course, to start it off we have the fairly accessible and popular affordable Luxury cars under $50,000, a hotly contested and interesting segment that sees a wide range of brands and sizes, from the diminutive CLA to the large but surprising Kia – who would have ever figured the Mercedes-Benz would be the most affordable in segment, and a Kia the largest in the same segment. The we’ll move on to the Luxury Over $50K, the opulent Prestige category, and last but not least, a single Sports and Performance category that seemed to inherit some leftovers from the luxury categories. Each of these categories is reviewed by one of the voting members judging that category, who will share their insights and prognostications.
Category: Luxury Car Under $50K, Steven Bochenek
Contenders – Price as tested
Buick Regal – $44,930
Kia Cadenza – $44,995
Lexus IS 350 – $48,950
Lincoln MKZ Hybrid – $48,850
Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 – $40,245
Good news for all of us with under $50K to spend on a vehicle: it’s a great time to be alive. The five cars on offer this year were superbly crafted. For fairness’s sake, impressions are organized here alphabetically.
The sporty, yes sporty, Buick Regal is probably not what you think. Its 2.0L four-cylinder turbo engine, though less powerful than some competitors, is hugely efficient and essentially the same one that powers 2013’s Best New Luxury Car, the Cadillac ATS.
Kia Cadenza was the subject of much banter during TestFest. Picture an optimized Optima – a little bigger, heavier and with a 3.3L direct injected V6 that achieves 293 hp and 255 lb-ft torque. It boasts a supple and welcoming interior. Driver dynamics immediately encourage confidence behind the wheel and into turns.
  2014 AJAC CCOTY Luxury and Performance Cars. Click image to enlarge |
You’d expect the rear-wheel-drive Lexus IS 350 to be a thrill with its hefty 3.5L six-cylinder engine. And it is. The progressive rate power steering gets sportier with your speed. Though there’s plenty of bling to pamper passengers, this was not the best value of the day.
Lincoln MKZ Hybrid has a fresh and original look. It feels really good inside too, that glass dome promoting a cheery atmosphere. With so much promise up front, the ride itself is less thrilling. Corners work but acceleration isn’t satisfying. Perhaps diesel would have made a better re-introduction to the Lincoln brand than hybrid.
Balanced and precise, understated and elegant, the Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 was, surprisingly, the least expensive car in the segment. The ride is tactile and peppy, courtesy of the dependable rack-and-pinion steering and turbo thrust. It was also the best value.
My personal favourite is probably the Kia Cadenza. For a non-luxury brand, Kia bravely eschewed overdoing it with trinkets. Plus, even after the victorious Optima, it was still utterly unexpected. However, my pick for the winner is the CLA 250 because it’s a helluva’ nice car for the price and has that impeccable pedigree. In short, no buyer’s ever going to look foolish for choosing Mercedes-Benz.
Of course if you have significantly under $50K, life is tough as always.
Category: Luxury Car Over $50K, Paul Williams
Contenders – Price as tested
Acura RLX – $55,990
Cadillac CTS – $75,125
Hyundai Equus – $72,299
Infiniti Q50 Hybrid – $56,450
Jaguar XF – $75,650
Lincoln MKZ – $55,275
Mercedes-Benz E 250 Bluetec – $64,050
This is a strong category for 2014, with a range of high-quality vehicles that in varying degrees offer a combination of prestige, the latest technologies, high performance and fine design. The choice this year is between an Acura RLX, Cadillac CTS, Hyundai Equus, Infiniti Q50 Hybrid, Mercedes-Benz E 250 BlueTEC, Lincoln MKZ and Jaguar XF.
  2014 AJAC CCOTY Luxury and Performance Cars. Click image to enlarge |
The surprise for me was the strength of the $55,990 Acura RLX (all prices “as tested”, although in the case of the Acura, this is also the base price). It boasts superb fit and finish, excellent comfort, roominess and ride, and quiet, willing power from its 3.5L, 310-hp V6 engine. Acura has shaved about $20,000 off the price of the outgoing RL, simplified the driver interface and loaded this car with desirable safety technologies along with numerous driver and occupant conveniences. In this category, the RLX is the only front-wheel-drive vehicle (though the MKZ is also based on a FWD platform), which may dissuade some buyers.
   2014 AJAC CCOTY Luxury and Performance Cars. Click image to enlarge |
The $75,900 Cadillac CTS Vsport (AWD) is the “full jam” version of the impressive new CTS. Its twin-turbo, 420-hp engine rockets this very high performance sedan from 0–100 km/h in 5.1 seconds, while providing a beautifully constructed and designed interior (compared with previous Cadillacs) and a more understated yet still dramatic exterior. This is the highest performance vehicle of the category, and it really is a superb effort.
The Jaguar XF AWD makes a more modest 340 hp from its 3.0L V6. At $74,800, the XF boasts appealing exterior design and a delightful interior, with an innovative and unusual, yet easy-to-operate interface. The most notable characteristic of the XF, however, is its driving dynamics. It feels light, strong, powerful and stable, and in my view is the best-handling vehicle of this category.
The $58,450 AWD Infiniti Q50 should impress a bit more than it does. It’s a hybrid making 360 total hp and it feels very quick and smooth on the road. It just lacks a certain personality, if you’ll forgive the vague observation. This is the replacement for the popular G35 and G37 sedan and it wears more dynamic and voluptuous sheet metal than the superseded “G” cars.
Likewise, the AWD $64,050 Mercedes-Benz E250 BlueTEC 4Matic does everything very well, but in a very quiet, almost too understated manner. Actually, I was surprised that you could buy such a well-equipped Mercedes for this price as it’s loaded with desirable safety features and amenities, plus it returns amazing fuel economy (7.4/4.6 L/100 km city/highway) from the 195 hp (369 lb-ft torque) 2.1L four-cylinder turbodiesel engine. It’s certainly a car you could live happily ever after with.
At $72,299, the rear-wheel-drive Hyundai Equus is a limousine-sized car of ambitious reach. Hyundai points out that while the company sold only 116 of them in Canada last year, the point of the Equus is not about sales. The point is to demonstrate that Hyundai can absolutely do luxury. With an engine more powerful than the Cadillac’s and every technology available to Hyundai on display in the Equus, it’s a rolling advertisement for the company’s ambitions.
In contrast, the Lincoln MKZ is to my mind not a successful representative of ambitions that Lincoln may have to revive the brand. A piece of interior trim has already detached in my test car, and its poorly positioned or retro-styled controls were a distraction from the pleasures that should be generated by driving a vehicle costing $55,050. It just didn’t seem up to the standard of its competitors.
In this category, the Cadillac’s the top performer; the Equus the most sumptuous; the RLX the underdog, but I would happily take home a Jaguar XF.
   2014 AJAC CCOTY Luxury and Performance Cars. Click image to enlarge |
Category: Prestige Vehicles Over $75K, Michael Bettencourt
Contenders – Price as tested
Cadillac XTS – $77,035
Jaguar XJR – $123,290
Mercedes-Benz S 550 – $139,650
Porsche Panamera S e-Hybrid – $134,825
Land Rover Range Rover – $123,375
It was a battle of range-topping vehicles in the Prestige category (Over $75,000), with the most luxurious Range Rover, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and (arguably) Porsche battling it out here, while Jaguar sent its slightly more performance-oriented but still plenty comfy R version of its full-size XJ sedan. The Range Rover was the only SUV of the bunch, and thus this group’s subtle name change from Prestige Car.
A look at the strengths and weaknesses of each entrant reveals some telling personality traits:
Cadillac XTS Vsport: its sharp and modern looks foreshadow a seriously futuristic interior with its touchscreen-only CUE system, though it’s notably fussier to use than some of the others. Its as tested price of $77,035 undercut all the others by at least 45 large, but that means little in this category, and the Caddy did poorest on all dynamic tests.
Jaguar XJR: This car was the stunner inside and out, with lovely interior detailing to go along with its svelte shape and notably quicker acceleration than anything else in the group. Tighter front and rear middle seating hurt its comfort scores.
Mercedes-Benz S-Class: The priciest machine here at an as-tested $139,650, but also the most exquisitely polished. It tied the Range Rover and the Porsche for 0–100 km/h acceleration, at 5.4 seconds for all three, but its official NRCanada numbers suggest it’s more efficient than all but the plug-in Porsche Panamera.
Porsche Panamera S e-Hybrid: The undisputed dynamic champ of the group, though bang on average in straight-line speed. Porsche suggests 18-36 km worth of all-electric range is possible on a full charge, though hard acceleration runs brought that down to an observed 12 km. Still the most fuel-efficient of the bunch by a long shot, with Camry Hybrid–like numbers.
Range Rover Supercharged: Another immaculately refined luxury machine, excelled in roominess, comfort and convenience features, but predictably fell behind dynamically, though its off-road capability helped claw back some of those lost points.
While the traditional S-Class and Land Rover were impeccably trimmed and the epitome of prestige, there were quite a few that were simply smitten with the big cat XJR, so it too is definitely is in the running.
   2014 AJAC CCOTY Luxury and Performance Cars. Click image to enlarge |
Category: Sports and Performance, Jonathan Yarkony
Contenders – Price as tested
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray – $70,410
Porsche Cayman – $62,720
Mercedes-Benz E 63 – AMG $116,700
Jaguar F-Type V6 S – $105,100
BMW 4 Series Coupe – $64,650
Mercedes-Benz E 350 Coupe – $70,500
This year’s tesfest was, for me, the year of the Corvette. There are plenty of worthy cars in every category, and no doubt Mazda fielded some very convincing products in highly relevant categories (could they possibly pull of a hat trick?), as did Mercedes-Benz with cars in seemingly every pricey category (Mercedes had my vote for best lineup in TestFest), but nothing compared to the allure and performance of the Vette. While it may seem jarring to some, I thought it was dead sexy in either the yellow or black they had on hand, and its performance has been unassailable for almost a couple decades.
And now it has the interior to match. Look closely and you’ll still find some cheap plastic switchgear, but the seats are comfortable and supportive (once you manage to insert yourself into them – not easy when people were parking practically door handle to door handle), while the technology and fine materials surround you in a cockpit that is highly functional, inviting and properly high-tech. Then slot the shifter into gear, rev the engine a bit, and ease off that pedal and you will be delivered unto a sports car experience that will be hard to match at any price (in this group, second fastest 0-100 km/h, fastest 80-120, shortest braking distance 100-0 km/h, oh, and best highway fuel consumption). The sound and fury of a classic American V8 is also now paired with a seven-speed manual and an excellent driving experience, feelsome, quick, taut steering and a ride that is all sports car, but surprisingly forgiving in Touring mode of its adaptive suspension.
Yeah, this was my pick in the category, and many shared my sentiment, but I believe it should also be a frontrunner for Canadian Car of the Year – performance and engineering this spectacular for $70K? I would vote for it twice if I could, not just because I love it, but because it is that good. The police officer monitoring our behaviour on the closed course also gave it his vote, so that makes it the people’s choice, right?
   2014 AJAC CCOTY Luxury and Performance Cars. Click image to enlarge |
However, TestFest and Canadian Car of the Year has never been just about execution of its mission, and many factors are considered, including practicality and comfort, which no doubt helped the Focus ST take the Sports/Performance Under $50K last year over the Toyobaru twins. If any car had the ability to pull of the upset, it was the Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG. This was the fastest in the group, clocked at 4.1 seconds to 100 km/h, a four-door, all-wheel-drive 1,940-kg missile that can transport up to five occupants to bliss in even less time. I spent my entire loop, including the tight autocross course and closed winding secondary road (with chicanes for braking/handling shakedown) awed by its mastery of physics and enjoying a shiatsu massage. Oh, and the sound of it.
Another dark horse (dark cat?) is the Jag F-Type, here in V6 S trim, but still also matching the spectacular V8s above for auditory effects. This car is fast, stylish, and skittish in a good way, but it didn’t deem to do as much as well for as little money as the Corvette. Still Jag has a beauty on their hands and i hope we see many of these multiplying on our roads.
Hard to believe the Porsche Cayman is overshadowed by anything, but this was not its week. However, the Cayman was the most affordable in this group, so that should help its cause. Though it tied for slowest in the group, the Cayman has never been about outright speed. No, this car is about balance, its mid-engine, rear-wheel drive offering ideal weight distribution and incredible control, but perhaps requires an actual track to feel its composure and communicative chassis, as it did not set itself apart as markedly superior to the Vette in handling under these conditions.
Rounding out the group were two luxury coupes, the BMW 435i and Mercedes-Benz E 350 Coupe (for the life of me I can’t understand why they’d put this up against their own freakishly awesome E 63 AMG), neither of which delivered enough immediacy or panache to get pretty much anyone’s attention. A shame, too, because outside of this company, these are two fine, comfortable cars with a dash of performance and excellent road manners.
That wraps up our TestFest coverage until December 3rd, when the category winners will be announced, with the final Canadian Car and Utility of the Year to be announced on February 13, 2014 at the Canadian International Auto Show.
