The 10 best-selling new vehicles in Canada for 2016

What a tidy coincidence that in Canada’s 150th year, the Ford F-150 is the most popular vehicle across our great nation. While neither the birthday or most popular pickup are a surprise, the sales figures for 2016 underscore one sure thing about Canadians: We hosers sure love our trucks.

If GM’s half-ton siblings were combined, the top three selling vehicles in this country would all be trucks, led by Ford’s F-Series, followed by the GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado, trailed marginally by the mighty Ram pickup. Alberta might stereotypically be labelled the truck belt, but trucks outsell cars in this vast country by a margin of more than two to one.

No wonder. Today’s trucks have proven ideal not just for family and urban or work duty, but for our massively diverse landscape that’s so often plagued by nasty weather requiring four-wheel-drive and good ground clearance, not to mention toasty heated seats. Fuel economy has also improved marginally in pickups, although they still have a long way to go to match the No. 1 best selling car in __canada – the Honda Civic, many of which are built in Ontario. The 10th generation Civic remains the most popular selling car in Canada for the 19th year in a row.

Here are the rest of the 10 most popular vehicles sold in Canada for all of 2016.

Ford F-Series – 145,409 units sold

2017 Ford F-150

Fully redesigned in 2015 with an all-aluminum body and cab, Ford’s F-150 entered 2016 with a new Sync 3 infotainment system that vastly improved performance and usability over the old. Overall sales of 145,409 units were up 22.4 per cent in 2016 from 2015’s 118,837 sales, led in part by bigger incentives and attractive financing. For 2017, the F-150 gets a new EcoBoost 3.5-litre V6 engine, but a diesel and refresh is expected for 2018.

Pickup Review: 2016 Ford F-150 4x4 SuperCrew Limited

Ram – 89,048 units sold

2016 Ram 1500

Ram sales got off to a good start in early 2016, but began to fall behind the previous year’s monthly totals by March. Lacking significant changes for 2016 and facing stiff competition, Ram sales trailed 2015 figures until late in the year, finishing 2016 at 89,048 units, or 2.4 per cent below 2015. Expect to see images of the new Ram this year, with production set for early 2018 as a 2019 model.

Pickup Review: 2016 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel

Honda Civic – 64,552 units sold

2017 Honda Civic Hatchback

The No. 1 selling car in Canada for the 19th year running, the Honda Civic maintains its hold on the top car spot thanks to a redesign that hit the market in 2015 as a 2016 model. With 64,552 units sold in 2016, the Civic actually fell below 2015’s sales by about a half percent, but the introduction of a hatchback with a 1.5-litre turbo engine maintained momentum. For 2017, a high performance Si and Type R will join the fleet.

Car Review: 2017 Honda Civic Hatchback

Dodge Grand Caravan – 51,349

2016 Dodge Grand Caravan

The passionate love for the minivan may have waned but the marriage remains strong as Canadian families, rental car outlets and fleet managers absorbed 51,349 Dodge Grand Caravans in 2016, despite going unchanged from the 2015 model and the introduction of the more expensive and luxurious Chrysler Pacifica. Aggressive pricing, a value package and low finance rates helped bump sales 9.4 per cent over 2015. The 2017 Caravan soldiers on and with such strong sales, a replacement model is undoubtedly in the works.

Comparison: 2016 Mazda CX-9 vs. 2017 Chrysler Pacifica

GMC Sierra – 51,091 units sold

2017 GMC Sierra

General Motors’ more luxurious pickup truck, the GMC Sierra, isn’t all that different from the Silverado. Combined, the two trucks accounted for 96,023 sales — the Sierra taking the lion’s share at 51,091 or 4.9 per cent fewer than in 2015. For 2017, the Sierra gets minor updates, including active grille shutters and a capless fuel filler.

Reader Review: 2016 GMC Sierra Denali 1500

Toyota RAV4 – 49,103 units sold

2016 Toyota RAV4

Beating out the Ford Escape — perennially the best-selling SUV — Toyota’s RAV4 took the SUV crown in 2016 in part due to a refresh that brought a new front fascia and other styling tweaks, as well as a new SE trim level that replaced the old Sport. With 49,103 units sold, the jump in sales amounted to a 16.9 per cent increase over 2015. Toyota will face stiffer competition this year with Honda’s new CR-V hitting the market: The current CR-V trailed the RAV4 by only 4,300 units.

SUV Review: 2016 Toyota RAV4 SE

Hyundai Elantra – 48,875 units sold

2017 Hyundai Elantra

A thorough redesign of the Hyundai Elantra should propel 2017 sales beyond the 48,875 units sold in 2016, a figure that was 2.4 per cent higher than in 2015 but significantly lower than high water mark year for Elantra sales — 2013. For 2017, the Elantra gets more upscale styling inside, new engines and a seven-speed dual clutch automatic on certain models.

Car Comparison: 2016 Honda Civic vs. 2017 Hyundai Elantra

Ford Escape – 46,661 units sold

2017 Ford Escape

Revised exterior styling and minor interior improvements for the 2017 model year didn’t produce more heat from the steady fire of Ford Escape sales. Indeed, monthly sales went up after the new model arrived in dealerships in the middle of the year, but overall sales for the year remained relatively flat at 46,661 units — 2.2 per cent off from 2015.

SUV Review: 2017 Ford Escape SE 4WD

Toyota Corolla – 45,626 units sold

2017 Toyota Corolla

Largely unchanged since the debut of the 2014 model, sales of the Toyota Corolla seem to suggest Canadians prefer reliability over styling. At 45,626 units sold in 2016, a 3.3 per cent drop from 2015, Corolla sales are undoubtedly headed higher for 2017 with the introduction of a suite of safety systems worth about $2,500 yet only raise the car’s price by $300. That and some welcome design tweaks might very well propel the Corolla past the Elantra to become Canada’s second most popular car.

Car Review: 2016 Toyota Corolla LE

Chevrolet Silverado – 44,932 units sold

2016 Chevrolet Silverado

Revised front-end styling, new grilles, LED lights and the addition of an eight-speed automatic transmission mated to the 5.3-Litre EcoTec3 V8 helped keep the Chevrolet Silverado sales from slipping further than the 3.2 per cent decline seen in 2016. The 2017 Silverado receives a number of new tech features across its various trim levels.

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January 7, 2017