The year 2023 is almost over as I write this and in a few days the winners of the 2024 North American Car, Truck and Commercial Vehicle of the Year (NACTOY) Awards will be announced. Several months ago, I had the honor of being invited to join the jury of 50 journalists from Canada, the United States and Mexico and since then I have voted for the finalists and now for the winners. At this point, only the Deloitte team that collected our votes knows who the winners are. , but let’s take a look at the nine finalists.
The first contenders are the Car of the Year contenders.
Honda Accord
This year, Honda launched the eleventh-generation Accord and it’s a very different model from the model that arrived in 1976. It’s still available as a four-door sedan, but like most vehicles, it has grown dramatically and is now classified as a giant sedan. Like the 10th-generation styling it replaced, the Accord has a fastback profile that has the utmost rigor among most sedans still on sale in this market.
It has a sleek design that, like the Civic that arrived last year, is a bit more understated than the last generation. Not bad, but not as attractive to look at. The new Accord is the first Honda to offer a new Android Automotive-based infotainment formula with Google Automotive integrated, adding Maps, Assistant and Play Store.
As has been the case since 1976, all Accords have front-wheel drive and there is a choice of two 4-cylinder powertrains. The base configuration is an edition of the 1. 5-liter turbocharged engine that comes with the 2016 Civic, while the option is a 2. 0-liter naturally aspirated hybrid. Only the LX and EX trims get the 1. 5-liter engine, the other 4 variants are all hybrids, and for the first time this year, no manual transmission is offered.
Hyundai Ioniq 6
The Ioniq 6 is one of 3 cars nominated this year, all of which use Hyundai Motor Group’s e-GMP electric drive architecture. This midsize sedan is based on the same hardware as the Kia EV6 that won last year’s advertising vehicle award and is also shared with the Kia EV9 and Genesis GV70 Electrified, which are finalists this year. Like the Ioniq Five and EV6, the Ioniq 6 has a 77. 4 kWh battery and the rear-wheel-drive edition takes advantage of the incredibly weak chassis to achieve an EPA-estimated range of 361 miles with the single-wheel-drive motor and 18-inch wheels.
The design is somewhat polarizing, but it allows the Ioniq 6 to glide through the air with minimal drag, the angled rear end limits the trunk area a bit. The single-engine edition is very fast, but the all-wheel-drive variants offer 320 horsepower to get up and get serious about.
Toyota Prius/Prius Premier
Now in its fifth-generation, the original hybrid is back and for the first time, it has a design that can truly be considered attractive and even sporty. While the sleek new body sacrifices some passenger space compared to the egg-shaped prior generations, it’s a worthy sacrifice. Toyota now has hybrid options in almost its entire lineup and those that need the extra space have lots of choices all the way up to the big Tundra and Sequoia.
2023 Toyota Prius Prime XSE
The newest generation of Toyota’s hybrid formula is tougher and more effective than before, reaching up to 57 mpg and even the all-wheel-drive style averages 49 mpg. The new Prius is making great strides toward being usable as a truly electric vehicle with up to forty-five miles of electric range, enough to meet about 80 percent of the driver’s daily needs without using gasoline at all.
Then we have the Truck of the Year candidates.
Chevrolet Colorado
At most, the entire midsize truck segment has been redesigned in recent years, and the Ford Ranger and Toyota Tacoma have a strong chance of being on that list next year. But they’re not really available yet, so we’ve been given that Colorado represents this time. Unlike most new models, the Colorado hasn’t really grown overall and that’s okay. It has more or less the same footprint, the wheelbase has been lengthened by a few centimeters, which deserves to make technical angles. Less difficult when going off-road.
2024 Chevrolet Colorado Trail Boss
While their are plenty of different trim levels, Chevrolet has simplified the offerings a bit with only the crew cab variant now being available from basic work truck to full-on Bison ZR2 off-road beast. All Colorados are now powered by the 2.7-liter turbocharged four that serves as the base engine in the full-size Silverado although two different power output levels are offered at 237-hp or 310-hp. All Colorados get a big 11.3-inch touchscreen with an Android Automotive infotainment system
Chevrolet Silverado EV
Chevrolet’s second runner-up this year is the Silverado EV. Unlike the F-150 Lightning that won this award last year, the Silverado is built from the ground up as an electric vehicle and offers a much larger 210 kWh battery and a range of 450 miles. diversity that provides more than two hundred miles of diversity, even towing a 10,000-lb. trailer.
2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV with Fourth Quarter Preview
At the moment, Chevrolet still only offers the Painted Pickup Edition to fleets, but there will soon be mass-market variants with features like four-wheel guidance for greater maneuverability. The specially designed frame will also bring back the center door that first made the impression two decades ago on the Avalanche pickup truck. With the folded center door and multi-directional tailgate, the Silverado will be able to accommodate shipments up to 11 feet long.
Ford Super Duty
The Ford Super Duty family includes a wide variety of trucks, from the F-250 Standard Cab, Long Bed, to the F-550 Medium-Duty Chassis Cab, which are supplied with ambulance bodies, towing equipment or bucket lifts used through application painters. There’s also an incredible diversity of trim levels, from the entry-level XL paint trucks to the sumptuous King Ranch, Platinum and Limited series.
First of the 2024 Ford Super Duty
While the design is evolutionary, there is plenty of new technology in the new Super Duty trucks including 5G connectivity and new driver assist features such as remote cameras and radar sensors that can be mounted on large trailers to feed into blindspot monitors and backup assist. The SYNC infotainment system also adds the ability for upfitters to have controls for the equipment being directly on the touchscreen without having to wire up and install extra switches. The existing 7.3-liter gas and 6.7-liter diesel V8s have been upgraded with more power and efficiency and a new entry-level 6.8-liter gas V8 has been added to the lineup.
The finalists for this year’s advertising vehicles are all from Hyundai Motor Group, with all brands represented and all available with electric propulsion.
Hyundai Kona
The second generation Kona has grown larger as is all too common although in this case, the extra size has gone to making the back seat more usable by adults. The original was definitely a tight squeeze in the back. The styling has evolved a lot, taking on a more chiseled look similar to the larger Tucson and losing some of the cuteness of the original.
2024 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD
Like the first Kona, this one will be available with a choice of four-cylinder electric or petrol engines. Two petrol engines are available, a 147 hp 2. 0-litre naturally aspirated or a 190 hp 1. 6-litre turbocharged. The more capable Kona N hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s likely to appear in a year or two. In the electric section, the Kona maintains the maximum of the device of the first generation, adding a 201 horsepower motor and a 65 kWh battery, the range has been slightly higher to 420 kilometers and the charging speed has been increased to one hundred kW. also a less expensive SE edition with a 49 kWh battery and 197 miles of diversity starting at less than $34,000.
Kia EV9
The EV9 is the largest vehicle built to date on the HMG e-GMP platform and launches a new EV segment, three-row SUV with a more common, though still expensive, price tag. The Rivian R1S 3-row and Mercedes-Benz EQS SUVs are now available at much higher prices than the Kia. The EV9 ranges from $55,000 to about $75,000 for an all-wheel-drive-loaded GT-Line.
2024 Kia EV9 GT-Line
The base style with a popular diversity battery and rear-wheel drive has a range of around 230 miles, while the rear-wheel-drive extended diversity variants are expected to reach around 304 miles. Like Hyundai Motor Group’s other e-GMP styles, the EV9 has a very fast charging capability (if you find a working tester) that can fill the battery from 10 to 80 percent in about 24 minutes. The EV9 is longer than the gas-powered Telluride, with seating for up to seven other people and plenty of shipping space in the rear.
GV70 Electrified Genesis
The GV70 EV is found in the existing GV70 midsize luxury SUV, but the gasoline powertrain has been replaced by the dual-motor e-GMP configuration found in the smaller GV60s, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6 and Kia EV6. With 320 hp, it’s 240 kW fast charging capability will allow you to reach 80% speed in about 18 minutes, which will be convenient since the heaviest luxury model only has a range of 236 miles.
2023 Genesis GV70 Electrified
Like all Genesis models, the GV70 feels more premium than many competitors at a more attractive price. Starting at $66,450, it undercuts German competitors while offering a wide array of features including highway driving assist with lane centering and heads up display.
The 2024 award winners will be announced on January 4, 2024 at 11am EST and the presentation will be streamed live on Youtube.