Acura MDXHonda
This one we're calling the Battle of the Three-row SUVs.
Infiniti, Nissan's luxury brand, is hoping to knock down the competition with a large SUV crossover aimed squarely at the Acura MDX and, to a lesser extent, the Audi Q7. It's called the Infiniti JX and, with a starting price of $44,900, this one enters the ring with a price that undercuts the MDX ($52,690) by what looks like an $8,000 advantage.
Not so fast. As we all know, the sticker price is only the starting point. To defend its SUV turf – and SUVs account for nearly 60 per cent of all Acura sales in Canada – you'll find discounts worth at least $6,000 on the MDX. The sales sweeteners certainly cut the JX down to size, from a pricing perspective.
The Acura deal is a combination of $4,500 in non-stackable trading dollars and an additional $1,500 in trading dollars, according to www.carcostcanada.com. In this case, the non-stackable is, indeed, stackable.
Acura also has in play $1,500 in its Master The Road sales event. This one offers a $1,500 discount for genuine Acura accessories and is applied to the after-tax amount. It seems you can stack the master deal with any other Acura offer, other than the non-stackable trading dollars. Check with your Acura retailer to be certain.
As for the Q7 from Audi, the least expensive version with third-row seating lists for $59,200. Audi is not having any trouble selling vehicles, so you'll find slim pickings on the deal-making front: a $750 loyalty bonus for repeat customers, or 1.9 per cent financing for five years.
Still, the competitive juices are flowing in the world of three-row SUVs and elsewhere, too. Take compact cars. Dodge is about to flood the market with the new Dart compact, which suggests deals are to be had among the competition.
We noticed the latest offers on the Toyota Corolla. The No. 3 seller among all cars in Canada, the Corolla is a perfectly serviceable compact sedan, though in virtually every way it looks to be a step behind the newly-updated players here – the likes of the Hyundai Elantra and Ford Focus, for instance, and even Canada's No. 1 seller, the Honda Civic.
Not surprisingly, you'll find a $1,000 discount on a Corolla and it can be combined with 1.9 per cent financing for four years. Note that the Toyota offer, unlike most, is applied to the after-tax amount.
A new 2013 Ford Fusion is just around the corner, which suggests deals on rivals such as the Hyundai Sonata, the No. 10 seller among all passenger cars in Canada. And there it is: a $3,000 factory-to-dealer rebate that can be combined with a 3.25 per cent finance rate for up to 96 months.
Finally, compact SUVs. The 2013 Ford Escape and 2013 Mazda CX-5 are both quite delightful new entries. The competition knows it, so Kia for one has a $2,000 discount on the rival Sportage and it can be combined with a 3.99 per cent finance rate for five years.
As usual, Deals of the Week obtained pricing information from www.carcostcanada.com, among other sources. Here are the numbers.
2012 Acura MDX AWD
- MSRP: $52,690
- Freight, dealer prep, air conditioning tax: $2,045
- Dealer discount (estimated): $2,000
- Factory discount: $1,500 (trading dollars factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Taxable subtotal: $51,235
- Total price with 13% HST: $57,895.55
- Factory discount: $4,500 (Non-stackable trading dollars factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Final price: $53,395.55
2012 Toyota Corolla CE auto
- MSRP: $16,450
- Freight, dealer prep and air conditioning tax: $1,565
- Dealer discount (estimated): $500
- Taxable subtotal: $17,515
- Total price with 13% HST: $19,791.95
- Factory discount: $1,000 (consumer cash factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Final price: $18,791.95
- Note: Can be combined with 1.9% financing for four years
2012 Hyundai Sonata GL auto
- MSRP: $24,299
- Freight, dealer prep, AC tax: $1,665
- Dealer discount (estimated): $900
- Factory discount: $3,000 (dealer cash factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Taxable subtotal: $22,064
- Total price with 13% HST: $24,932.32
- Note: 3.99% financing for up to 96 months
2012 Kia Sportage LX auto
- MSRP: $26,995
- Freight, dealer prep, AC tax: $1,750
- Dealer discount (estimated): $800
- Factory discount: $2,000 (Kia prime rate factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Taxable subtotal: $25,945
- Total price with 13% HST: $29,317.85
- Note: 3.99 per cent financing for up to five years
Pricing information source: carcostcanada.com. Calculations based on Ontario customers. Please note that while the information above is accurate at the time of publication, incentives are given at the discretion of individual dealers, and may be changed or discontinued at any time. Dealer discounts are negotiated with the customer on a case-by-case basis.