(Toronto, ON) — For the first time in its six-year history, expert judges have selected four vehicles as finalists for the 2018 Canadian Green Car Award who have each been selected as finalists and category winners in the past.
The overall winner will be revealed Friday, April 6 at the Green Living Show, in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
The finalists were selected after extensive testing and assessment by the judges, all leading Canadian automotive journalists, who picked the top entries in four technology and vehicle type categories. *
The finalists are:
Full Battery Electric – Chevrolet Bolt
Plug-in Hybrid Electric – Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid
Traditional Hybrid Electric – Hyundai Ioniq
Efficient Internal Combustion – Honda Civic
Category Winners and Finalists for the 2018 Canadian Green Car Award
The Canadian Green Car Award, Canada’s original environmentally-focused automotive award, recognizes vehicles that offer impressive “green” attributes combined with strong mass-market appeal, based on the understanding that 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.
The 2017 overall winner was the Chevrolet Bolt. Previous overall winners include the Chevrolet Volt (2016), Kia Soul EV (2015), Honda Accord Hybrid (2014) and Ford Fusion Hybrid (2013).
“The task for the Canadian Green Car Award judges gets more challenging as automakers continue to raise the bar in technology, fuel economy and quality,” said Laurie Simmonds, President and CEO of Green Living Enterprises, which operates the annual Green Living Show. “The four finalists are all outstanding ‘green’ vehicles, and the judges once again have their work cut out for them in making the ultimate choice.”
The competition began with the Award Steering Committee selecting three nominees in each of the four categories, based on meeting essential “green” criteria related to technology type and fuel economy. The judges then evaluated the nominees, including test drives, data from manufacturers and their own experience. Those scores produced the four category winners announced today.
The 3 finalists for each category were as follows:
Full Battery Electric: Chevrolet Bolt, Nissan Leaf, Volkswagen eGolf
Plug-in Hybrid Electric: Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, Honda Clarity PHEV
Traditional Hybrid Electric: Ford Fusion Hybrid, Kia Niro Hybrid, Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid
Efficient Internal Combustion: Honda Civic, Chevy Cruze Hatch, Nissan Versa Note
“This year our judging panel was struck by how mainstream green cars have become” notes Eric Novak, Co-creator of the Canadian Green Car Award. “The four finalists have demonstrated that by owning a vehicle with minimal environmental impact, one doesn’t need to feel they are making sacrifices in other areas. Seeing green cars as normal instead of alternative is critical to achieve wide-spread acceptance among car buyers and our finalists this year go a long way towards proving that.”
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 overall 2018 Canadian Green Car Award winner will be revealed at 11:30 a.m., Friday, April 6, at the Green Living Show in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, North Building. Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environmental Defence will also be on hand for the presentation and will offer a few remarks prior to the awards being presented.
All four finalist vehicles will be on display throughout the three-day Show, last year attended by more than 35,000 visitors.
More information on the Canadian Green Car Award can be found by visiting www.canadiangreencaraward.ca
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