\u00b7 Professional writer for more than 35 years, appearing in some of the top publications in Canada and the U.S.\r\n\r\n
\u00b7 Specialties include new-vehicle reviews, old cars and automotive history, automotive news, and \u201cHow It Works\u201d columns that explain vehicle features and technology\r\n\r\n
\u00b7 Member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) since 2003; voting member for AJAC Canadian Car of the Year Awards; juror on the Women\u2019s World Car of the Year Awards\r\n\r\n
Education\r\n\r\n
Jil McIntosh graduated from East York Collegiate in Toronto, and then continued her education at the School of Hard Knocks. Her early jobs including driving a taxi in Toronto; and warranty administration in a new-vehicle dealership, where she also held information classes for customers, explaining the inner mechanical workings of vehicles and their features.\r\n\r\n\r\n
Experience\r\n\r\n
Jil McIntosh is a freelance writer who has been writing for Driving.ca since 2016, but she\u2019s been a professional writer starting when most cars still had carburetors. At the age of eleven, she had a story published in the defunct Toronto Telegram newspaper, for which she was paid $25; given the short length of the story and the dollar\u2019s buying power at the time, that might have been the relatively best-paid piece she\u2019s ever written.\r\n\r\n
An old-car enthusiast who owns a 1947 Cadillac and 1949 Studebaker truck, she began her writing career crafting stories for antique-car and hot-rod car club magazines. When the Ontario-based newspaper Old Autos started up in 1987, dedicated to the antique-car hobby, she became a columnist starting with its second issue; the newspaper is still around and she still writes for it. Not long after the Toronto Star launched its Wheels section in 1986 \u2013 the first Canadian newspaper to include an auto section \u2013 she became one of its regular writers. She started out writing feature stories, and then added \u201cnew-vehicle reviewer\u201d to her resume in 1999. She stayed with Wheels, in print and later digital as well, until the publication made a cost-cutting decision to shed its freelance writers. She joined Driving.ca the very next day.\r\n\r\n
In addition to Driving.ca, she writes for industry-focused publications, including Automotive News Canada and Autosphere. Over the years, her automotive work also appeared in such\r\npublications as Cars & Parts, Street Rodder, Canadian Hot Rods, AutoTrader, Sharp, Taxi News, Maclean\u2019s, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes Wheels, Canadian Driver, Sympatico Autos, and Reader\u2019s Digest. Her non-automotive work, covering such topics as travel, food and drink, rural living, fountain pen collecting, and celebrity interviews, has appeared in publications including Harrowsmith, Where New Orleans, Pen World, The Book for Men, Rural Delivery, and Gambit.\r\n\r\n
Major awards won by the author \r\n
2016 AJAC Journalist of the Year; Car Care Canada / CAA Safety Journalism award winner in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013, runner-up in 2021; Pirelli Photography Award 2015; Environmental Journalism Award 2019; Technical Writing Award 2020; Vehicle Testing Review award 2020, runner-up in 2022; Feature Story award winner 2020; inducted into the Street Rodding Hall of Fame in 1994.\r\n\r\n
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Whether you\u2019re a shopper researching your next vehicle, or someone who just loves cars, Driving is your source for everything automotive.\r\n\r\nDriving is the automotive section for all of Postmedia Network\u2019s newspapers and newspaper websites including Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Leader-Post (Regina), National Post, Ottawa Citizen, The Province (Vancouver), The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon), Vancouver Sun, and the Windsor Star.", "SameAs": ["https://www.tiktok.com/@drivingdotca?utm_source=tiktok&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=driving_promo_AO&utm_content=homepage", "https://twitter.com/drivingdotca", "https://www.youtube.com/user/drivingdotca", "https://www.pinterest.ca/drivingca/"]}, "isAccessibleForFree": true, "isPartOf": {"@type": ["CreativeWork", "Product"], "name": "Driving", "productID": "driving.ca:showcase"}, "mentions": [{"@type": "CollectionPage", "name": "New Vehicles", "alternateName": "news", "abstract": "Sub Category", "url": "https://driving.ca/category/auto-news/news/"}, {"@type": "CollectionPage", "name": "Awards and surveys", "alternateName": "awards-surveys", "abstract": "Main Category", "url": "https://driving.ca/category/auto-news/awards-surveys/"}, {"@type": "CollectionPage", "name": "News", "alternateName": "auto-news", "abstract": "Sub Category", "url": "https://driving.ca/category/auto-news/"}, {"@type": "CollectionPage", "name": "Safety", "alternateName": "safety", "abstract": "Sub Category", "url": "https://driving.ca/category/features/safety/"}, {"@type": "CollectionPage", "name": "Advice", "alternateName": "features", "abstract": "Sub Category", "url": "https://driving.ca/category/features/"}], "inLanguage": "en", "speakable": {"@type": "SpeakableSpecification", "cssSelector": [".article-title", ".article-subtitle"]}, "thumbnailUrl": "https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/driving/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2025-Nissan-Kicks.jpg?h=120&sig=SbpYUhQ41vVYNOGuG8rqPw", "image": [{"@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/driving/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2025-Nissan-Kicks.jpg", "name": "2025 Nissan Kicks in updated side test", "height": 1080, "width": 1920, "description": "2025 Nissan Kicks in updated side test", "caption": "2025 Nissan Kicks in updated IIHS side-impact crash test", "creditText": "IIHS"}, {"@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/driving/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2025-Toyota-Tundra.jpg?w=800&crop=1&strip=all", "height": 1080, "width": 1618, "caption": " Toyota Tundra in updated moderate front overlap test", "description": null, "name": null, "creditText": "IIHS"}], "video": [{"@type": "VideoObject", "name": "The Importance Of Headlight Performance In Safety Ratings | Driving.Ca", "headline": "The importance of headlight performance in safety ratings | Driving.ca", "url": "https://driving.ca/video/0dfcc87e-605f-11ed-bf70-0a47c39d2929/the-importance-of-headlight-performance-in-safety-ratings-drivingca", "contentUrl": "http://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jwa2b7xu.m3u8", "embedUrl": "https://cdn.jwplayer.com/players/jwa2b7xu-YDHXOizU.html", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "duration": "PT364S", "thumbnailUrl": "http://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jwa2b7xu/poster.jpg?width=320", "uploadDate": "2022-11-09T18:48:09.118870+00:00", "datePublished": "2022-11-09T18:48:09.118870+00:00", "description": "#headlights #safetyratings #vehiclesafety\n\n\nOpting for a model with strong headlight performance has numerous benefits after dark \u2014 including reduced driver eye fatigue, reduced stress levels, improved comfort and confidence, and an easier time gathering quality information about your driving environment.\n\nThe IIHS has long been known for crash-testing cars and trucks, as well as their crash avoidance and crash prevention technologies including electronic stability control, automatic braking and more. The independent, nonprofit organization rates headlights on the distance that a vehicle's low beams and high beams illuminate straight and curved roads. On a straightaway, good-rated low beams illuminate the right side of the road ahead to at least 325 feet. Poor ones might light up 220 feet or even less.\n\nFull story on Driving.ca: https://driving.ca/features/safety/headlight-performance-in-safety-ratings\n\n_____________________________________\n\n\nBe sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel to keep you in the loop on all things automotive, whether it's breaking news, a new review or the latest hard-hitting column \u2014 by our roster of trusted, talented and award-winning automotive journalists.\n\n\nFor more Car Reviews: https://driving.ca/category/reviews/\n\nFor more Car News: https://driving.ca/category/auto-news/\n\nFor Canadian Car Pricing, Vehicle Specs, Expert Reviews, Models Compare Tool and more: https://driving.ca/find-compare/\n\n_____________________________________\n\n\nWould you like to subscribe to our Blind-Spot Monitor NEWSLETTERS to catch up on all the top automotive stories of the week. Delivered on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It's free and it takes seconds to sign up. Sign Up Now: https://driving.ca/newsletters/\n\n\nFOLLOW US\n\nTwitter: https://twitter.com/drivingdotca \nFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/drivingdotca/ \nInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/drivingdotca/ \n\n\nABOUT DRIVING.CA \n\nDriving.ca is the leading online destination for the latest car news and all things automotive related for Canadians. Driving\u2019s team of award-winning auto journalists publishes original, fresh and breaking content about cars, SUVs, pickup trucks, electric vehicles and more, and is enjoyed by almost 2 million Canadians every week in print, online, on smartphones and tablets. Whether you\u2019re a shopper researching your next vehicle, or someone who loves cars, Driving is your source for everything automotive. \n\nFor general advertising inquiries, contact us via email at [email protected].\n\n \n\n#headlightperformance #LEDheadlights"}]}
The U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has wrapped up its crash testing for the year, and has announced that another 19 vehicles from eleven brands earned either the highest Top Safety Pick+ award, or the next-step-down Top Safety Pick. All are 2024 or 2025 model-year vehicles.
This final round means a total of 48 vehicles earned the Top Safety Pick+ award in 2024, along with 56 that took Top Safety Pick.
IIHS, a non-profit safety organization, also retested the 2025 versions of the Audi Q7, Genesis G80, Genesis GV80, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda CX-50, and Rivian R1T in some of its tests, due to them being modified or redesigned from the 2024 models. All of the 2024 versions had earned Top Safety Pick+ status, and all of the 2025 versions maintained that.
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Toyota Tundra in updated moderate front overlap testPhoto by IIHS
The latest winners of the 2024 Top Safety Pick+ awards are:
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Vehicles undergo three crash tests: small front overlap, moderate front overlap, and side crash. The last two have been updated, with the moderate front overlap now assessing potential injury to a rear-seat passenger, as well as to those in front; and the side crash now better simulates being struck by a large SUV. The IIHS also assesses headlight performance, along with pedestrian front crash prevention. The IIHS also tests seatbelt reminders and ease-of-use for child seat tether anchors, but these are not part of the award requirements.
To qualify for either Top Safety Pick award, a vehicle must earn the highest “Good” rating in the small overlap front and updated side test; and “Good” or next-step-down “Acceptable” in the pedestrian front crash prevention and also for headlights across all trim levels.
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When the IIHS updates a test, it rolls out the award qualifications gradually – mostly due to the time it takes to crash-test everything – and that’s the case with the front overlap test. Right now, a “Good” rating in the original moderate overlap test will qualify a vehicle for Top Safety Pick, providing it meets the other criteria; but to get the Pick+, it must earn “Good” or “Acceptable” in the updated test.
Some of the new Pick+ winners had previously been named Top Safety Picks, but were upgraded once they were crashed in the updated front test. Some awards only apply to vehicles built before or after specific dates, when manufacturers made modifications to them. The 2025 Subaru Forester earned an award, but not its Wilderness trim, because that one is still based on the 2024 design.
In this round, the IIHS also tested the 2024 Cadillac Lyriq and 2024 Ford Bronco Sport. The Lyriq missed an award due to earning a “Poor” rating for its headlights, while the Bronco Sport only earned “Acceptable” in the updated side test, which requires “Good” for an award.
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Jil McIntosh specializes in new-car reviews, auto technology and antique cars, including the two 1940s vehicles in her garage. She is currently a freelance Writer at Driving.ca since 2016
Summary
· Professional writer for more than 35 years, appearing in some of the top publications in Canada and the U.S.
· Specialties include new-vehicle reviews, old cars and automotive history, automotive news, and “How It Works” columns that explain vehicle features and technology
· Member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) since 2003; voting member for AJAC Canadian Car of the Year Awards; juror on the Women’s World Car of the Year Awards
Education
Jil McIntosh graduated from East York Collegiate in Toronto, and then continued her education at the School of Hard Knocks. Her early jobs including driving a taxi in Toronto; and warranty administration in a new-vehicle dealership, where she also held information classes for customers, explaining the inner mechanical workings of vehicles and their features.
Experience
Jil McIntosh is a freelance writer who has been writing for Driving.ca since 2016, but she’s been a professional writer starting when most cars still had carburetors. At the age of eleven, she had a story published in the defunct Toronto Telegram newspaper, for which she was paid $25; given the short length of the story and the dollar’s buying power at the time, that might have been the relatively best-paid piece she’s ever written.
An old-car enthusiast who owns a 1947 Cadillac and 1949 Studebaker truck, she began her writing career crafting stories for antique-car and hot-rod car club magazines. When the Ontario-based newspaper Old Autos started up in 1987, dedicated to the antique-car hobby, she became a columnist starting with its second issue; the newspaper is still around and she still writes for it. Not long after the Toronto Star launched its Wheels section in 1986 – the first Canadian newspaper to include an auto section – she became one of its regular writers. She started out writing feature stories, and then added “new-vehicle reviewer” to her resume in 1999. She stayed with Wheels, in print and later digital as well, until the publication made a cost-cutting decision to shed its freelance writers. She joined Driving.ca the very next day.
In addition to Driving.ca, she writes for industry-focused publications, including Automotive News Canada and Autosphere. Over the years, her automotive work also appeared in such publications as Cars & Parts, Street Rodder, Canadian Hot Rods, AutoTrader, Sharp, Taxi News, Maclean’s, The Chicago Tribune, Forbes Wheels, Canadian Driver, Sympatico Autos, and Reader’s Digest. Her non-automotive work, covering such topics as travel, food and drink, rural living, fountain pen collecting, and celebrity interviews, has appeared in publications including Harrowsmith, Where New Orleans, Pen World, The Book for Men, Rural Delivery, and Gambit.
Major awards won by the author
2016 AJAC Journalist of the Year; Car Care Canada / CAA Safety Journalism award winner in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013, runner-up in 2021; Pirelli Photography Award 2015; Environmental Journalism Award 2019; Technical Writing Award 2020; Vehicle Testing Review award 2020, runner-up in 2022; Feature Story award winner 2020; inducted into the Street Rodding Hall of Fame in 1994.
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Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.