Ford, Kia, and Toyota each took home one of three prizes in the 2024 edition of the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards.
The automotive industry is inundated with awards, and most are barely worth your notice. But the North American Car 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.
This year, the jury split its awards between three automakers. In keeping with a recent theme, two of the three went to vehicles with some degree of electric power.
The third went to a heavy-duty truck powered by a choice of three V8 engines. Different tasks require different tools.
2024 North American Car of the Year: Toyota Prius/Prius Prime
Toyota radically reconsidered what a hybrid can be with its latest Prius. Toyota redesigned the car for the 2023 model year. But the redesigned version debuted too late to earn consideration for the 2023 award.
Americans have always known the Prius for its practicality, fuel economy, and strong resale value. Prior to the 2023 edition, though, mushy performance and dowdy looks were drawbacks. With the remodel, Toyota made them into pros, not cons. The improvements were enough to win the Prius our own Best New Model award for 2024.
The new Prius looks sleek and sporty, with a big Cheshire Cat grin across its newly aerodynamic face. The 194-horsepower drivetrain (196 in all-wheel-drive form) gives it new zip. But fuel economy is still excellent, with up to 57 mpg in combined driving.
The plug-in Prius Prime version can recharge from a wall outlet and travel up to 44 miles on electric power alone before using gasoline. In keeping with the car’s new sporty reputation, it gets 220 horsepower.
“The Toyota Prius was the butt of jokes for its looks so long that the new one is unrecognizable – and stunningly attractive,” said juror John Voelcker.
2024 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year: Kia EV9
Kia designers took a risk with their new EV9 3-row electric SUV: at the risk of dividing opinions, they made it interesting.
It paid off. The EV9 offers many of the same virtues as Kia’s wildly successful Telluride. But it isn’t simply an electric Tellie. It’s more distinctive than anything else in the Kia showroom, with an angular, faceted appearance that looks as much 2034 as 2024.
An upscale interior manages to look clean and minimalist without losing any functionality and features see-through front headrests that are just cool.
We’ve yet to see whether coolness translates to demand – this is the first electric 3-row SUV by a non-luxury marque. But the uniqueness of the model won it this year’s award. Like the Prius, the Kia EV9 also picked up one of our Best Buy Awards, for Best 3-Row EV.
For the NACTOY award, Autoline’s John McElroy says, “The Kia EV9 should scare the stuffing out of other mass market brands. Kia is rapidly moving upscale with head turning design and all the latest technology at prices below the premium brands.”
2024 North American Truck of the Year: Ford Super Duty
All that electrification might make you think there’s no room for an old-fashioned torquey workhorse of a truck. But the jury found the best truck of 2024 isn’t a futuristic cyberthing or even a more conventional electric truck.
It’s the good old Ford Super Duty.
Like the Prius, the Super Duty debuted with an all-new design for the 2023 model year. But it came out too late for last year’s awards.
The redesigned Super Duty combines old-fashioned truck capability with modern tech and creature comforts. Our expert test driver found it easy to handle with an empty bed on a long drive or up a steep incline with a 40,000-pound trailer load, where it “felt like there was more muscle in reserve.”
But the technology came in for praise, too, with available high-end audio systems, 5G connectivity, and a 2-kilowatt electrical system with conventional outlets in the bed.
“Equally suited to construction sites and towing million-dollar trailers, it’s loaded with technology to simplify its chores and keep the driver comfortable,” says Mark Phelan of the the Detroit Free Press.
