2022 North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year finalists announced
Ford's Bronco and Maverick both get nods, as do newcomers like Lucid and Rivian.
Well, folks, we're getting towards the end of 2021, and that means a couple of things. First, it means that many of us have been subjected to Christmas music for the past two months, and secondly, it means it's time to talk about the finalists for the 2022 North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year awards.
The nonprofit NACTOY awards are judged by a group of 50 jurors from a diverse slate of automotive publications including online, print, radio and television. (Full disclosure: The list of jurors includes two Roadshow staffers, Antuan Goodwin and Chris Paukert.) There are three categories -- Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year. The 2021 winners were the Hyundai Elantra , Ford F-150 and Ford Mustang Mach-E , respectively.
The NACTOY organization announced its 2022 finalists Wednesday at the start of the Los Angeles Auto Show , and the vehicles represent a diverse group of manufacturers and powertrain types. All of the models are worthy of your attention.
The finalists for Car of the Year include the 2022 Honda Civic , which was just the beneficiary of a significant redesign, which we at Roadshow have really enjoyed. There's also the Lucid Air, a sleek new electric luxury sedan which is just starting to make its way to customers and which offers impressive range and unique styling. Lastly, there's the MkVIII Volkswagen GTI and Golf R twins, which, in true GTI/R fashion, are more evolutionary than revolutionary but continue to set a high bar for the hot hatch segment.
The 2022 Truck of the Year finalists include the Ford Maverick and the Hyundai Santa Cruz -- both of which share an unusual (for a pickup) unibody design ethos, and both of which we love. The Rivian R1T also gets a nod, which isn't unexpected, given the excitement this startup's all-electric truck has garnered from the press as well as automotive enthusiasts.
Lastly, the Utility Vehicle of the Year finalists are the Ford Bronco SUV (because duh), the handsome and pleasant Genesis GV70 luxury SUV and the all-electric and looks-like-a-hatchback-but-is-a-crossover Ioniq 5. Both of those last two picks are awesome, but are going to have a tough time beating out Ford's four-wheel drive money-printing nostalgia-mobile.
So, now that you know the finalists, which would you pick for each category and why? Let us know in the comments.
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