This week, the Canadian Car and Utility Vehicle of the Year are awarded, Honda partners with Sony to build cars, the 2023 Kia Sportage gets a price tag, Ford takes the Lightning to see the Northern Lights, and more.
Car and Utility Vehicle of the Year
The Automobile Journalists Association of Canada’s 2022 Canadian Car and Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year awards have been handed out. With more than 250 eligible vehicles driven from coast to coast by dozens of Canada’s top auto writers, including several of our own reviewers, thousands of ballots were cast. This year’s Canadian Car of the Year is the all-new Honda Civic, with the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year awarded to the Hyundai Tucson. Voting factors include performance, fuel economy, features, design, safety, and more.
Sony partners with Honda
Honda and Sony announced that the two would be partnering to develop and sell electric vehicles. The two companies plan to form a joint venture later this year with the goal of selling the first vehicle in 2025. Sony’s latest EV concept, the Vision-S 02, came as a surprise earlier this year. Partnering with an automaker to build it seems like a much more logical way to bring it to market. Honda already has a partnership with General Motors that will see Honda EVs built on GM’s Ultium electric platform, this is set to be in addition to that.
2023 Kia Sportage pricing
Kia’s all-new 2023 Sportage arrives at dealers shortly, starting from $28,395 plus destination. The crossover will offer a 2.5-litre four-cylinder as standard, with an eight-speed auto and front-wheel drive. It will also come to market a few months later with hybrid and PHEV models, though prices for those weren’t yet announced. Kia offers an extensive suite of standard driver aids including forward collision avoidance, driver attention warning, lane follow assist, and rear occupant alert. An AWD 2023 Sportage has an MSRP of $30,395 plus destination and the lineup goes to the X-Line Limited with an MSRP of $40,995.
Winter testing the F-150 Lightning
Ford is putting the electric F-150 Lightning through its paces in Alaska, helping to ensure it can handle winter driving. In a development stage called “low-mu” testing, referring to the low levels of friction of the winter road surface, Ford tested the truck’s AWD system on snow, ice, and concrete, at temperatures hovering around 34 below. Ford says that the electric motors allow for quicker responses than a traditional gas-engine stability and traction control system and that it is always ready to engage all four wheels, unlike a conventional driveline. Ford did not say how much those extreme temperatures might affect range.
Distracted driving
A recent survey from ICBC, British Columbia’s public insurer, has found that 42 per cent of drivers admit they use their phones on at least one out of every 10 trips. At the same time, 93 per cent of drivers surveyed believe it’s highly risky to text while driving. 76 people are killed each year in B.C. as the result of distracted driving-related crashes. ICBC says that using electronic devices like your phone while driving increases the possibility of a crash by five times. ICBC and B.C. police forces are planning a month-long campaign to ramp up enforcement of distracted driving and are using community volunteers to help watch for distracted drivers.
Keyword: Weekly News Roundup: Frozen Lightning, Sportage Pricing, Distracted Driving, More