MONTREAL - A jury of 10 senior Canadian automotive journalists have selected the new Audi A7 Sportback as the Canadian Automotive Jury's 2012 Best of the Best Winner.
From this year's dozen Best of the Best Finalists-including the BMW 1 Series, Chevrolet Cruze and Volt, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Infiniti M, Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, Kia Optima, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Mini Cooper Countryman, the 2011 Best of the Best winning Ford Fiesta-the Audi A7 was recognized as "the one and only, best of the best" of the current crop of 2012 model year vehicles sold in Canada.
In a tightly contested voting session, the Kia Optima was this year's first runner-up.
In choosing the A7 as this year's winner, the Jury cited its "gorgeous" styling, while inside, the A7 is equally attractive. As per the A6 sedan it's based upon, the A7 is jammed with Audi's excellent Quattro all-wheel-drive system and the latest in in-car hi-tech.
Yet despite its practical aspirations, the A7 is quiet on the road when required, but can act like a sports sedan when its 310 hp, supercharged 3.0-litre V6 is called upon, while an even spicier 420 hp V8 version, dubbed S7, is coming later this year.
The Canadian Automotive Jury's annual Best of the Best Awards are unique in Canada. Its 10 Jurors account for the vast majority of automotive industry coverage in Canada. And the Jury's selections don't exclusively focus on a specific model within a family of vehicles or only "all-new" models.
To qualify for the Best of the Best Awards, vehicles must have been on sale in Canadian showrooms by October 1, 2011. From this group, Jury members chose 11 finalists. The reigning champion, the last 2011 Best of the Best Winner, the Ford Fiesta, was automatically included as a finalist for 2012.
The Canadian Automotive Jury are:
- David Booth
- Jeremy Cato
- Benoit Charette
- Graeme Fletcher
- Gabriel Gelinas
- Petrina Gentile
- Eric LaFrancois
- John LeBlanc
- Jim Robinson
- Michael Vaughan
From left to right: Graeme Fletcher, John LeBlanc, Éric LeFrançois, Petrina Gentile, David Booth, Audi Canada's Cort Nielsen, Jeremy Cato, Benoit Charette, Michael Vaughan, Jim Robinson, and Gabriel Gélinas.