After what seemed to be an exceedingly long wait, the ‘22 NACTOY winners have finally been revealed. Honda takes the North American Car of the Year award with the Civic while Ford scores two victories with the Maverick unibody pickup and the Bronco body-on-frame utility vehicle.
No fewer than 36 vehicles made the initial list of eligible vehicles, and the first round narrowed the pool down to 23 semifinalists. A grand total of 50 automotive journalists representing print, online, radio, and television media outlets in the U.S. and Canada voted in the ‘22 NACTOY awards.
“2021 has been a highly significant year in automotive history,” said 2022 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year president Gary Witzenburg. “Today’s winners represent our collective opinion of the best of what’s available to customers right now, and we sincerely congratulate the automotive industry on a very impressive year,” declared Witzenburg.
Although the Volkswagen Golf R is way more fun and the Toyota Corolla fares better in terms of reliability, the Civic fully deserves the award it’s received because it offers a perfect blend of what consumers want in a compact vehicle. Available in four-door sedan and five-door hatchback body styles, the little Honda that could is priced from $22,350 sans taxes.
Over in the world of pickups, the Bronco Sport- and Escape-based Maverick has a tremendous pricing advantage over the similarly-sized Hyundai Santa Cruz. $19,995 for a 2.5-liter hybrid is tremendous value for money, and the unibody truck also happens to be much cooler than most SUVs out there.
As for the Bronco, “conflicted” would be the best word to describe what I feel about Ford’s long-awaited response to the Jeep Wrangler. On the one hand, it’s been riddled with production- and quality-related woes in addition to ludicrous dealer markups. But on the other hand, the Bronco drives better than its main rival thanks to independent front suspension while the Sasquatch package morphs even the base trim into a true off-roader.
“2021 has been a highly significant year in automotive history,” said 2022 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year president Gary Witzenburg. “Today’s winners represent our collective opinion of the best of what’s available to customers right now, and we sincerely congratulate the automotive industry on a very impressive year,” declared Witzenburg.
Although the Volkswagen Golf R is way more fun and the Toyota Corolla fares better in terms of reliability, the Civic fully deserves the award it’s received because it offers a perfect blend of what consumers want in a compact vehicle. Available in four-door sedan and five-door hatchback body styles, the little Honda that could is priced from $22,350 sans taxes.
Over in the world of pickups, the Bronco Sport- and Escape-based Maverick has a tremendous pricing advantage over the similarly-sized Hyundai Santa Cruz. $19,995 for a 2.5-liter hybrid is tremendous value for money, and the unibody truck also happens to be much cooler than most SUVs out there.
As for the Bronco, “conflicted” would be the best word to describe what I feel about Ford’s long-awaited response to the Jeep Wrangler. On the one hand, it’s been riddled with production- and quality-related woes in addition to ludicrous dealer markups. But on the other hand, the Bronco drives better than its main rival thanks to independent front suspension while the Sasquatch package morphs even the base trim into a true off-roader.