- The 2025 North American Car of the Year (NACTOY) Award Finalists include the 2025 Honda Civic, Toyota Camry and Kia K4
- The 2025 North American Truck of the Year finalists covers the 2025 Ford Ranger, Ram 1500 and Toyota Tacoma
- The 2025 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year is composed of the 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe, VW ID.Buzz and Chevrolet Equinox EV
The 2024 Los Angeles Auto Show served as the stage for the North American Car of the Year (NACTOY) jury to announce the finalists for this prestigious award. That lineup includes the 2025 Toyota Camry midsize sedan alongside the Honda Civic and Kia K4 compacts.
The 2025 Toyota Camry arrived earlier this year with a fresh new look and a hybrid-only lineup. While the old Camry had plenty of powertrain options, the hybrid-only strategy means that the Camry boasts a 4.9 L/100 km combined fuel consumption rating, which is astounding.
The 2025 Honda Civic makes plenty of sense on this list as it’s been totally redesigned with a feature set and driving manner that make it feel like a class above. It’s also offered with a fun-to-drive hybrid powertrain that delivers strong fuel efficiency and plenty of acceleration.
The Kia K4 is a bit of a surprise pick, but after testing it out the NACTOY jury found it strong enough to earn its place among the best of the year. A fierce rival for the Civic, the K4 offers plenty of interior room and features for the price.
The jury also announced the North American Truck of the Year and Utility Vehicle of the Year finalists. The Truck of the Year finalists include the Ford Ranger, Ram 1500, and Toyota Tacoma, while the Utility Vehicle of the Year finalists include the Hyundai Santa Fe, VW ID.Buzz and the Chevrolet Equinox EV.
While it’s surprising that the best-selling Ford F-150 didn’t make the cut, the 2025 Ford Ranger definitely deserves its place among the finalists, offering top-notch turbocharged powertrains and capabilities. Its Japanese competition, the 2025 Toyota Tacoma is no slouch either, as it joins this list of finalists thanks to its rugged new looks and hybrid engine options. The 2025 Ram 1500 represents the standard duty segment well with its high-end interior, smooth ride and cool new turbocharged, inline-six-cylinder engine.
The Utility Vehicle of the Year list has become more and more important as crossovers and SUVs are the best-selling segments in North America. It’s cool to see two EVs on the list, even though the compact-sized 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV and 2025 Volkswagen ID.Buzz van represent two dramatically different ends of the segment. The 2025 Hyundai Santa Fe is no slouch either, with its head-turning style and various powertrain options that include a normal hybrid and punchy turbocharged motor.
“The competition for these awards will be fierce this year,” said NACTOY President Jeff Gilbert in a written statement from the organization. “We have a well-balanced crop of EVs, hybrids and gasoline-powered vehicles. It will be hard to narrow each category down to just one winner – they’re all great choices.”
Winners will be voted on by the 50 automotive journalists that make up the NACTOY awards and will be announced on January 10, 2025, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
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