Both brands dominate in passenger car and SUV & Van segments.
Vincentric has released the results of its 2023 Best Value in Canada Awards. This marks the 12th year in a row in which Toyota Canada Inc. (TCI) garnered more awards than any other vehicle manufacturer.
Toyota earned six model-level awards and two brand awards—including Best Value Passenger Car brand and Best Value SUV & Van brand. This marks the sixth time Toyota scored top points in both categories and the third time in a row that the brand was named best value in the SUV & Van segment.
Toyota scores big in specific model awards
On the individual vehicle awards, Toyota scored in the top categories with the Sequoia (Large SUV), Toyota Corolla Hybrid and Highlander Hybrid (for the Compact Passenger Car and Midsize SUV respectively), as well as the Prius Prime (Midsize Passenger Car) and GR Supra (Luxury Sports Car).
Following closely behind Toyota was Tesla, which scored top in the Best Value Luxury Car and SUV & Van category, while four of its vehicles—the Model 3 (Best Luxury Compact) Model S (Best Large Luxury Sedan), Model Y (Best Compact Luxury SUV) and Model X (Best Midsize Luxury SUV) earned top awards in each of their respective categories.
Stellantis’ Ram brand also scored top points, finishing highest in the truck category—its Ram Heavy Duty 2500 and 3500 models winning their categories for the fourth and third time wins respectively.
Other top category winners were the Ford F-150 Lightning Pickup (Best Value Full-Size Pickup), Mazda MX-5 (Best Sports Car), BMW Z4 (Best Luxury Convertible), Audi A5 (Best Luxury Coupe) and Kia Rio (Best Subcompact).
Increase in EVs and hybrids
According to David Wurster, Vincentric’s President, the 2023 awards were notable for a sizeable increase in electric and electrified vehicles, including BEVs, PHEVs and hybrids winning in several categories.
“We saw a 15% increase in electric, hybrid and plug-in winners from last year, showing that alternative fuel vehicles are a viable choice for Canadian consumers,” said Wurster.
According to Vincentric the cost of ownership of each vehicle is determined by eight different cost factors: depreciation, fees & taxes, financing, fuel, insurance, maintenance, opportunity cost, and repairs. Using a statistical model, Vincentric identifies the Best Value in Canada winners by measuring which vehicles have lower than expected ownership costs given their market segment and price. For the 2023 findings, approximately 2,000 vehicle configurations were evaluated in all 10 Canadian provinces plus the Northwest Territories, using a range of annual kilometre intervals and insurance profiles.
Look for a follow-up article where Autosphere interviews David Wurster, asking him about some of the findings from this year’s awards, what they represent both for OEMs and consumers and how the perception of value is likely to impact the automotive sector going forward.
