Ford, Honda, and Volkswagen each took home one win in the 2025 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards. This year’s winner list includes one gas-powered model, one hybrid, and one pure electric vehicle (EV).
The automotive industry is inundated with awards, and most are barely worth your notice. But the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards (NACTOY, for short) are significant because the winners are chosen by a jury of 50 experts from dozens of publications.
Our own Allyson Harwood is among the judges.
2025 North American Car of the Year: Honda Civic Hybrid
The 2025 Honda Civic Hybrid claimed the win among traditional cars.
Honda reintroduced the hybrid model to its Civic compact car for the 2025 model year. That alone was enough to take home this award.
Our editors love the Civic (it won our own Best Buy Award) for its class-leading reliability and refinement at an affordable price. The hybrid model gives it up to 49 mpg in combined city and highway driving.
You pay no power penalty for the added efficiency. At 200 horsepower, the hybrid version is quicker than the 158-hp gas-powered Civic.
The Civic Hybrid topped two other finalists, the Kia K4 and Toyota Camry.
2025 North American Truck of the Year: Ford Ranger
Ford released an entirely new Ranger midsize truck for the 2024 model year, too late to qualify for last year’s awards.
No problem. It took home the trophy for 2025, instead.
The new Ranger nicely balances power and efficiency, with impressive towing figures from a base turbocharged 4-cylinder engine (a turbocharged V6 is available on more upscale XLT and Lariat versions, along with the off-road Raptor variant).
It’s now offered only in crew cab, short bed configurations. But that has become standard practice in the midsize truck segment, where only Toyota and Nissan offer anything else. The Ranger beat out a new Ram 1500 and Toyota Tacoma for the prize.
2025 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year: Volkswagen ID. Buzz
The 2025 Volkswagen ID. Buzz took the top step in the utility vehicle category, and if you want to argue that a minivan isn’t an SUV, you’re going to need to invent another category so the continent can recognize the most evocative new vehicle on sale this year.
An all-electric rebirth of the classic Love Bus, the ID. Buzz has nostalgia and modern technology on its side. It’s adorable and gets loving stares everywhere it goes, while offering shoppers up to 234 miles of range and plenty of passenger space.
Upbeat styling (we love that the accelerator and brake pedals have play and pause icons on them) combines with practicality, including generous headroom, and handy storage nooks throughout.
The ID. Buzz is likely to be a rare sight in 2025 – VW has promised most dealerships they’ll get at least one to sell, and possibly two, as production ramps up.
The ID. Buzz topped a new Hyundai Santa Fe and the Chevrolet Equinox EV to take home this award.
