Jodi Lai on AutoTrader Awards 2025

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): The Good Men Project

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/02/16 (Unpublished)

Jodi Lai is an award-winning automotive journalist, Editor-in-Chief at AutoTrader.ca, and a recognized expert in the automotive industry. With over 15 years of experience, she is passionate about making car knowledge accessible and fostering inclusivity in the automotive world. Jodi has a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Ryerson University. She has earned accolades, such as the 2022 AJAC Journalist of the Year. She is a jury member for the prestigious North American Car/Truck/Utility Vehicle of the Year awards and hosts a bi-weekly podcast. Known for her engaging on-camera presence, Jodi advocates for unbiased, consumer-focused automotive advice. Lai highlighted that over 20 automotive journalists assess cars based on 12 factors including value, innovation, and reliability and more. Notable winners include the Honda Civic (Best Overall Car), Kia EV9 (Best Overall SUV), and Ford Maverick Hybrid (Best Overall Truck). Lai emphasized the growing importance of EVs and evolving award categories to reflect industry trends. The awards aim to simplify car shopping by providing unbiased expert recommendations, ensuring Canadians can confidently select vehicles that meet their needs.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Today, we’re here with Jodi Lai to discuss the AutoTrader Awards 2025. AutoTrader is Canada’s largest online automotive marketplace, and the AutoTrader Awards evaluate the top vehicles in 28 categories. That’s quite a large endeavour. Do you utilize algorithms to analyze such a wide range of categories?

Jodi Lai: We approach it by involving a group of over 20 automotive journalists who vote on the awards. It’s a very democratic process. We ask them to select their top picks in 28 different categories. When asking for their votes, I emphasize that they must consider 12 factors including value, innovation, engineering, and user-friendliness.

We analyze various factors to determine what makes a good car and, more importantly, what differentiates a good car from an award-winning car. These factors are weighted differently depending on the category. For example, we wouldn’t penalize a sports car for being fuel-inefficient because fuel economy is not its primary purpose.

We evaluate vehicles based on how well they fulfill their intended role. We’re looking for vehicles that not only meet but exceed expectations, raising the benchmark for their segment or even the automotive industry as a whole. Ultimately, we aim to identify overall excellence.

We conduct these awards because many people find new car shopping overwhelming due to the sheer number of options available. The awards are designed to help them either kickstart their research or simplify their decision-making process by providing expert recommendations. All of the winners represent vehicles that our experts would confidently recommend to their own family and friends.

Jacobsen: The evaluated factors include value, practicality, performance, safety, and innovation. Why do the experts prioritize these specific factors?

Lai: We assess vehicles based on how Canadian shoppers prioritize their purchases. These factors were identified through our research. They reflect the key considerations that Canadian drivers focus on, forming the basis of our scoring when determining the best vehicles.

Jacobsen: When did the current format of the AutoTrader Awards begin?

Lai: I joined AutoTrader in 2019, which is when the awards, as we know them now, were introduced. Before that, the awards followed a different format with a less comprehensive methodology. The current process makes the awards more relevant to a wider audience and significantly more thorough. Additionally, the evaluation process is now more rigorous and mathematically sound than the previous system.

Jacobsen: The Honda Civic was awarded Best Overall Car. What made it stand out?

Lai: The Honda Civic stood out because it excels in numerous key factors, including practicality, reliability, value, and innovation. It’s a vehicle that not only meets but surpasses the expectations of its segment. It’s a great all-rounder, offering a combination of engineering excellence, user-friendliness, and superior performance, which made it the standout choice for Best Overall Car.

The Best Overall Car is a category that essentially combines all of the other car categories, including sedans, and similar vehicles. The Honda Civic received the most votes from our jury.

They appreciate the Honda Civic because it is practical and user-friendly. It is also built locally, which is significant for people who want to support local manufacturing.

We recommend it easily because it has built a rock-solid reputation for reliability while also offering driver enjoyment and performance. Additionally, it comes in a variety of body styles and powertrains, such as performance or hybrid models.

There’s a Honda Civic for everyone. We often refer to it as “Canada’s car” because it is one of the most popular cars in the country, and it’s also built here, which is a great bonus.

Jacobsen: And the Best Overall SUV winner was the Kia EV9. As you can tell by how I pronounced that, I don’t drive much.

Lai: That’s OK. The Kia EV9 is an interesting winner because it is the first EV to win the Best Overall SUV category. In this category, all vehicles are eligible regardless of their powertrain.

It’s particularly impressive that the EV9 won in its first year of availability. This demonstrates that it’s not only impressive as an EV but also as an SUV in general. Even if you’re not specifically looking for an EV, we’re confident that the EV9 would meet the needs of many Canadians. That’s a big win for Kia and very impressive.

Jacobsen: The Best Overall Truck was the Ford Maverick Hybrid. I’ve worked on construction sites and horse farms, and trucks are popular in those settings. What makes the Ford Maverick Hybrid stand out as the best overall?

Lai: The Ford Maverick, including the hybrid model, was voted Best Overall Truck. Interestingly, while the F-150 is Canada’s most popular truck, our experts selected the Maverick because they felt it was better suited for more people.

Full-size trucks have become so large and expensive that they’re out of reach for many Canadians. The Maverick offers a more affordable, compact, and fuel-efficient option while still meeting most truck users’ needs.

This year, the Maverick Hybrid with all-wheel drive, which was previously unavailable, is available. All-wheel drive is important for Canadian drivers due to our four distinct seasons.

The Maverick is also a very clever truck with many innovative features. It’s built to work and is extremely user-friendly. It was the right truck because most people don’t need a full-size truck.

Jacobsen: And Canada’s most trusted car brand—you mentioned local manufacturing being a factor in some of the voting by the 20 experts and journalists. Toyota was recognized based on a third-party consumer survey. How did you conduct or commission the third-party consumer survey?

Lai: We used Ipsos Reid, which you might have heard of. They’re the third-party organization we rely on. We do this to remain as neutral and objective as possible.

We survey Canadians daily and ask them which car brands they trust the most. Toyota has won three years in a row, and we’ve only conducted this research for three years. That’s the only category in which our experts do not vote.

It’s significant because it reflects how regular Canadians feel about trustworthiness. Toyota has been manufacturing many of its vehicles in Canada for over 60 years, so it has had decades to earn Canadians’ trust and respect.

Toyota also has a stellar reputation for making reliable and robust cars. Canadians have come to trust them deeply over the years, so this is a meaningful win for them.

Jacobsen: The other categories include sedans, SUVs, performance cars, and hybrids. We’ll cover those shortly. Are any of these categories newer in terms of the awarding process?

Lai: Yes. When the AutoTrader Awards first started, when I joined in 2019, we grouped all green vehicles under one category called Best Green Vehicle.

However, as the years went on, the number of green vehicle options grew significantly, and our research showed that people shopping for EVs weren’t as interested in hybrids and vice versa. So, we divided the categories.

We no longer have a single Best Green Vehicle category. We’ve separated it into Best Hybrid, Best Plug-In Hybrid, Best Mainstream EV, and Best Luxury EV, the newest categories.

We also added Best Vehicle for Adventure a couple of years ago. This was another result of our research, which revealed that many people don’t know the specific type of car they want—they just know what they want to do with it.

That category became particularly relevant during peak COVID when Canadians started spending more time outdoors than ever. Sales of off-road-focused SUVs surged, so we introduced that category to serve our users better.

Jacobsen: Why is the Toyota Camry considered the Best Family Sedan?

Lai: First of all, a few family sedans are left. Many sedans have been discontinued because Canadian consumers generally prefer SUVs. But the Camry stood out to our jury because it’s brand new for 2025.

The Camry impressed our jury. Not only did Toyota revamp the entire look, making it very stylish, but it is now available only as a hybrid, which was bold. Sedans are already a niche market, so making it hybrid-only was smart. This allowed Toyota to integrate all-wheel drive without sacrificing fuel economy.

This hybrid system made great sense for Canadian drivers, especially with tighter budgets and increased focus on fuel efficiency. Our experts were very impressed with the complete package the Camry offers. It’s user-friendly, has a solid reputation for reliability, and provides great value. It was an easy choice for our experts.

Jacobsen: The Subaru Crosstrek was named Best Subcompact SUV.

Lai: Yes, the Subaru Crosstrek is a standout option in that segment because it’s larger than most competitors. Our experts loved its practicality, which sets it apart from other vehicles in the same class.

It’s also the only subcompact SUV that comes standard with all-wheel drive. In other vehicles within this segment, all-wheel drive is an optional feature that costs extra. The Crosstrek offers affordability and remains one of Canada’s most cost-effective ways to get all-wheel drive.

Additionally, it’s very family-friendly, practical, and easy to use. Some of our experts bought Crosstreks themselves, which is the best endorsement it could receive.

Jacobsen: The Porsche 911 won Best Premium Performance. Why?

Lai: Yes, and funnily enough, this is the first time the Porsche 911 has won the award for Best Performance Vehicle. It was an obvious choice for many of our experts because the 911 embodies sports car excellence like no other vehicle.

While other sports cars may be more powerful or visually striking, none are as iconic as the 911. It sets the global standard for sports car excellence, and our experts have consistently recognized that.

Of course, it may be out of reach for many Canadians, so we also have a mainstream performance category to cater to those who want a sporty, fun vehicle at a more accessible price point.

Jacobsen: The Toyota Prius won Best Hybrid. Can you elaborate, especially considering your earlier points about separating hybrid and electric categories?

Lai: The Toyota Prius has always been a strong performer, but with its recent overhaul, it’s better than ever. It’s no longer just a highly efficient and reliable car—it’s also stylish and enjoyable to drive.

Historically, the Prius had a reputation for being a “nerdy” and somewhat dorky vehicle. That’s no longer the case. The latest Prius looks great, is packed with advanced technology, and still maintains the reliability and fuel efficiency it’s famous for.

The updated model also offers all-wheel drive, which is a fantastic feature for Canadian drivers. This recent redesign elevated the Prius to a new level, making it the best hybrid on the market. It checks all the boxes without compromising anything, which we look for in a winner. It’s a fantastic choice for many Canadian drivers.

Jacobsen: Based on your knowledge of online sales trends, what do you see as a potential future category for awards next year or in some future year?

Lai: Electrification will become increasingly important as we move forward. We may need to divide the green categories even further. Over time, all categories could transition to being EV-focused.

The Canadian government aims for all passenger cars sold to be electrified by 2035, whether plug-in hybrids or fully electric vehicles. That’s an ambitious goal, and I doubt it will be achieved. However, if it does, we’d have to completely rethink how we structure the awards.

For instance, we might see categories like EV performance cars or EVs optimized for efficiency. New green or EV-focused categories will become more relevant as EVs become more mainstream.

Jacobsen: Who organizes and presents the awards each year?

Lai: That would be me! It’s one of the most important projects I have worked on all year. The whole reason I do my job is to provide Canadians with unbiased, expert car advice.

The awards represent the ultimate expression of that goal. They reflect the collective input of all our experts, who collaborate to determine the best cars across various segments.

Many people find car shopping incredibly confusing, and we hope the awards help them kickstart their research or give them reassurance that the car they’ve chosen is a great one.

Jacobsen: Well, Jodi, thank you for the opportunity and your time today. I appreciate an inside look at the best cars in each category for the year.

Lai: Thank you, Scott. If you have any other questions, feel free to reach out.

Jacobsen: Excellent. I appreciate it. It was nice to meet you.

Lai: Thank you so much, Scott. Have a good one.

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