The 2015 Canadian International Auto Show was on at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre from February 13 to 22.
I spent Family Day hiking the Show, and am here to give you the highlights.
If you are planning of visiting the Toronto Auto Show in the future, my biggest recommendation is to wear good shoes. With two buildings and six total floors, there is a lot of ground to cover.
Entering at the main entrance to the North building, I first found the ticketing office. A coat check room was nearby and was very much welcome since it was so cold outside and it’s always warm at these shows.
When I was ready, I followed the crowd up the escalator to the main exhibit of the North building.
As I stepped off, I was immediately surrounded by Fiat Chrysler vehicles. This display was probably the largest at the show. With such a large display, there were plenty of interesting cars to see.
The aggressive off-road Ram Rebel, with its knobby tires and intimidating grille was not far from the lifts. Moving past the trucks, I arrived at the true headliners.
A red Viper ST was sealed in the centre. It’s nice to see the return to the sinuous curves instead of the sharp angles it once sported.
A custom Challenger R/T was nearby. Painted in classic Dodge muscle-car green, and a Hemi poking through the “shaker” hood, it looked like this car could get you into a lot of trouble.
Two new Hellcats sat side-by-side. The Challenger SRT Hellcat, which made news earlier in the year for its 707 hp, was there so you could get up close.
The new Charger SRT Hellcat was on a rotating turntable. Not many four-door sedans have a 6.2-litre Hemi and look this intimidating.
Tucked off to the side, I found a completely different flavour. Both Alfa Romeo’s were on display – the base 4C and 4C Spyder.
Moving on from Fiat Chrysler, Honda/Acura were the next biggest nearby.
Obviously, the biggest draw was the new NSX. Seeing it up close, a few things struck me.
This new NSX looks much shorter and compact than the original. To be critical, the black plastic vents punctuating the bodywork kind of looked a bit cheap.
Tearing myself away from the NSX, I found the sporty CR-Z Hybrid. This certainly doesn’t look like a typical hybrid, especially considering those massive tailpipes.
Also on display was the 2016 Honda Pilot. This new one is curvier than the current generation. It might have been because it was on a raised platform, but it also looked much larger.
If you brought kids, they would have enjoyed having their picture taken on one of the many motorcycles and ATV’s Honda had on display.
Beside Honda was Subaru, which incorporated a scavenger hunt using a smartphone app. It wasn’t working for me, and judging by the people around me, most were struggling.
Drawing the most attention was the VIZIV 2 concept. This is a tall, long and wide wagon. Somewhere under its long hood is a plug-in hybrid powertrain. An interesting looker, but little of the bodywork will ever see production.
Circling back around, I passed several smaller booths with many free giveaways and opportunities for kids to participate and be active. I almost completely walked by a Ferrari LaFerrari.
On the other side of the escalators I found Nissan. Front and centre was the massive Titan. A Cummins Turbo Diesel is tasked with moving this behemoth.
Looking small in comparison, a GTR was nearby. As was a tiny 2015 Micra Cup car and I have always had a love for small racecars.
Finally, I had to check out the curious BladeGlider concept. Based on Nissan’s Lemans racer, this triangular, three-passenger car gives off zero emissions.
Next door was Kia, and its all white cars. The only Kia not finished in white was the yellow GT4 Stinger concept. A small, hatchback sports car, this concept appears like it could be ready for production with only a few small alterations. My favourite detail was the wraparound windshield with see-through A-pillar.
Tucked in the corner was Porsche with a small display. The focus was a plug-in Panamera and plug-in Cayenne.
Next, with a display larger than I expected was Jaguar/Land Rover.
I will admit to carrying a torch for Jaguar, so I quite enjoyed the 2016 F-TYPE Project 7. Unfortunately, none of the F-TYPE’s were running so I could hear that amazing exhaust.
Please check out part 2 of this review.
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