The longtime favourites Honda Civic and Honda Accord were named AutoTrader Award winners along with the high-performance and thrill-inducing Civic Type R. The AutoTrader Awards gather automotive experts from across Canada who consider every vehicle available to purchase to determine the top candidates in each category. Category winners are based on thorough testing of every new vehicle available, making them one of Canada's most comprehensive automotive awards.

The Honda Civic was named Best Compact Car for 2023

The Honda Accord took home the Best Family Sedan award for 2023

While the Type R Civic was named Best Performance Vehicle for 2023

"The legendary reputation of the Civic and Accord precedes them, their quality and popularity with Canadian drivers confirms our commitment to making some of the best passenger cars in the world,"

says Steve Hui, Assistant Vice President of Honda Canada

"The Civic Sedan is an affordable, safe, reliable, and fun-to-drive car that we're proud to build in Canada, the Civic Type R is renowned as the performance car everyone wants to take on the track, while the consensus, best midsize sedan you can buy, the Accord, has long been the standard for family cars."

How Does AutoTrader Pick the Winning Vehicles? 

Overall Excellence: A winning vehicle will set a new standard or benchmark for its segment or, even better, will move the needle for the entire automotive industry as a whole. All the elements below come together to create an almost-perfect package with no serious flaws. A winning car goes above and beyond what’s expected.

Value: A winning vehicle will be priced fairly when compared to its competitors and offer Canadians the most bang for their buck. A winning car will be packaged smartly and should have generous standard features with fairly priced options.

Innovation: A winning car will push the boundaries of technology, revolutionize a way of doing things, or introduce something new or clever.

Technology and Features: A winning car will have desirable, innovative, and useful technology and features. These should make a car more connected and more convenient.

User-friendliness: A driver should be able to get into a winning car and be able to use everything with no learning curve. A winning car should be comfortable for all passengers and have logical ergonomics so everything is where you expect it to be.

Performance: A winning car will excel at doing what it is intended to do. Whether it’s a truck, sports car, family car or anything else; it will accomplish its intended purpose effectively.

Engineering Excellence: The mechanical elements of a winning car all work together seamlessly. Each element is robust on its own but works in harmony with other elements to create a cohesive experience.

Driver Satisfaction: A winning car shouldn’t be a chore to drive – it should be enjoyable and easy.

Design: A winning car should have an intelligent interior and exterior design that helps achieve its purpose. It should be appealing yet practical, and not make too many compromises.

Safety: A winning car will have a high crash test and safety ratings. A winning car should have a suite of active safety technology available.

Quality: A winning car should be well-built and the fit and finish should be solid. The materials used should be durable and robust.

Efficient: Fuel economy and driving range are important to Canadian buyers and a winning car should be efficient when compared to its competitors.

These criteria have different weighting depending on the segment of vehicle we’re awarding. For example, driver satisfaction is more important than fuel economy to our jury when evaluating a sports car. Similarly, a luxury car won’t be penalized because it costs more than a little city runabout, and a minivan won’t be judged heavily on its exterior design or style.