Fresh off the Automotive Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) naming the Honda Civic as the best small car in Canada, the Honda Accord has also been named best large car in Canada. This makes Honda tied for the most awarded brand from AJAC with 2 vehicles earning this prestigious award. The Accord went head to head and ultimately bested its longtime rival the Toyota Camry and the new and flashy Kia K5. 

AJAC staff members fell in love with the build quality, quiet interior and overall value that the Accord offers. 

Being showered with accolades and praise is nothing new for the Accord, most recently with 2022 IIHS safety picks, a 2018 North American and Canadian Car of the Year Award and making Car and Driver’s most recent 10Best list. The 2022 Accord has made the prestigious Car and Driver list for the 36th time, making it the most awarded vehicle in 10Best history.

“This is a well-deserved accolade for the Accord, which has long been recognized as the benchmark of its class,” 

said Steve Hui, Assistant Vice President of Honda Canada. 

“The Accord has been embraced by Canadians as a fun-to-drive, safe and fuel-efficient large car that is as comfortable on a family road trip as it is cruising city boulevards. We are proud and very pleased with winning this AJAC award.”

How are the Winning Vehicles Picked?

Here are the winning vehicles are chosen according to the AJAC website. 

Key to the Canadian Car of the Year awards program is an annual event known in the Canadian automotive industry as “TestFest”.

To supplement their year-round testing and assessment of eligible Canadian Car of the Year vehicles, every October the top automotive journalists from across Canada gather for additional evaluations of current models available to the Canadian market.

Their purpose? To select the best new vehicles in various categories as well as an overall Canadian Car of the Year and Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year. The evaluation is based on "real-world" testing so that the results have relevance for consumers.

In other words, the rigorous testing program includes driving on public roads – exactly where consumers drive - so that the tests and vote results are relevant to potential car and truck buyers.

Team members use a detailed rating form, comprising various evaluation parameters that include acceleration, braking, vehicle dynamics, maneuverability, even off-road capability, where applicable. Each parameter is rated using a prescribed 0 – 10 rating scale.

Every detail, from safety features to cargo capacity, is thoroughly scrutinized, discussed, and individually rated by secret ballot.

Those ballots are then tabulated by the international accounting firm KPMG. The results are kept confidential -- even from AJAC -- until the awards press conferences wherein the category and overall winners are announced.

Learn more about the award-winning Honda Accord by reading through our research page.