2015 Canadian Green Car Award Finalists Announced

Top L to R: Kia Soul EV, Porsche Cayenne S E Hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid Bottom L to R: VW Golf TDI, Kia Rondo, Mini Cooper S

TORONTO – March 19, 2015 – Six vehicles have been selected as finalists for the 2015 Canadian Green Car Award.

The overall winner will be revealed Friday, March 27 at the Green Living Show, in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

The finalists were selected after extensive testing and assessment by leading Canadian automotive journalists, who picked the top entries in six technology and style categories.

The finalists are:

Battery-electric:                                             –   Kia Soul EV

Plug-in hybrid                                               –   Porsche Cayenne S E Hybrid

Hybrid                                                             –   Honda Accord Hybrid

Efficient internal combustion                   –   Volkswagen Golf TDI

Efficient three-row family vehicle           –   Kia Rondo

Fun Car                                                          –   Mini Cooper S

The Canadian Green Car Award, now in its third year, recognizes vehicles that offer impressive “green” attributes combined with strong mass-market appeal, since any product can have a significant environmental impact only if it sells in large numbers.

To achieve this result, the assessments combined “objective” criteria, such as fuel economy, emissions and price, with the judges’ evaluations of performance, driving experience, value, features and “green” qualities. This year a new category, “Fun Car,” was added to honour vehicles that offer both good fuel economy and high performance, to emphasize that “Green” can also be synonymous with driving pleasure.

“The work of the judges gets tougher every year because cars, no matter what technology powers them and no matter what their size and price level, keep getting greener and better,” said Laurie Simmonds, President and CEO of Green Living Enterprises, which operates the annual Green Living Show. “Manufacturers are continually raising the bar and widening choices, which creates difficult decisions for those involved in the award but is great news for consumers.”

The competition began with judges submitting five nominees for each category. They could choose any vehicle as long as it met basic “green” criteria based on technology type and fuel economy. Vehicles that received the most support in each category became the nominees, which the judges then scored based on test drives, data from manufacturers and their own experience. Those scores produced the six category winners announced today.

This open process, in which eligibility doesn’t depend on whether a manufacturer is willing to pay a substantial entry fee, is in line with other global green car awards and makes the program a very meaningful gauge for consumers.

“The diversity of vehicles amongst the list of finalists is indicative of the increased amount of choices Canadians have available to them when wanting to make eco-responsible choices for their next automobile” says Eric Novak, co-founder of The Canadian Green Car Award and a member of it’s Steering Committee along with Peter Gorrie and Michael Bettencourt.  “This is a consumer-focused award and we hope the results are helpful to those looking for guidance in a growing, but at times confusing sector of the auto industry.”  Novak is also Editor-in-Chief of Envirodad.com

The overall 2015 Canadian Green Car Award winner will be revealed at 11:15 a.m., Friday, March 27, at the Green Living Show in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building. All six finalists will be on display throughout the three-day show.