Chevrolet Corvette, Jeep Gladiator and Kia Telluride Win 2020 NACTOY Awards
Detroit may not be hosting an auto show this month, but the tradition of the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year (NACTOY) awards continues on. This year’s winners are the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Jeep Gladiator and Kia Telluride.
The coveted awards were announced early Monday at Detroit’s TCF Center. The NACTOY panel consists of 50 automotive journalists from both Canada and the USA. After months of testing, the panel had narrowed the list down to a trio of finalists for each category:
2020 North American Car of the Year:
2020 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year:
2020 North American Truck of the Year:
SEE ALSO: 2020 Hyundai Sonata Review
Every car on the list is impressive, but we can’t say we’re surprised by the winners. Chevrolet bet big on its new Corvette, turning it into a mid-engined machine for the C8 generation. The move puts it even closer to the supercars the Vette can match in performance, while still drastically undercutting them on price. Both the Supra and Sonata are fine cars too, but arguably neither rewrites the rules of its segment as much as the latest Corvette. Stay tuned for AutoGuide.com‘s first-hand experience with the car soon.
Lincoln’s Aviator was always going to have a hard time against the Korean duo in the utility category. Both Kia and Hyundai’s three-rows have impressed many journos, us included, but in the end Kia’s crossover won out. It takes a similar approach to the Corvette by offering an experience usually reserved for vehicles with much higher price tags—in this case, near-luxury SUVs.
SEE ALSO: 2020 Kia Telluride Review
The Jeep Gladiator takes the desirability of the Wrangler and adds a pickup bed. It fought off the competent Ford Ranger and Ram Heavy Duty trucks to score top honors.
NACTOY president Lauren Fix had this to say as the awards were announced:
“These awards would not be possible without the hard work, professionalism and insight of all of our jurors along with the cooperation throughout the year from all of the automotive companies. Now in our 26th year, we are proud that both automakers and consumers recognize the value our awards provide to new car buyers.”
SEE ALSO: 2020 Jeep Gladiator Review
Both the Gladiator and Telluride are currently available in dealers across America and Canada. The C8 Corvette should start arriving in a few months.
Kyle began his automotive obsession before he even started school, courtesy of a remote control Porsche and various LEGO sets. He later studied advertising and graphic design at Humber College, which led him to writing about cars (both real and digital). He is now a proud member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC), where he was the Journalist of the Year runner-up for 2021.
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