2024 North American Car, Truck, and SUV of the Year finalists

[rperez817]

Putting this in the Ford Motor Company Discussion Forum because 1 finalist is a Ford product. North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year™ Jurors Celebrate Finalists for 2024 Awards - North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year (northamericancaroftheyear.org)

 

2024 North American Car of the Year Finalists	2024 North American Truck of the Year Finalists	2024 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year Finalists
Honda Accord Hyundai Ioniq 6* Toyota Prius/Prius Prime	Chevrolet Colorado Chevrolet Silverado EV* Ford Super Duty	Genesis Electrified GV70* Kia EV9* Volvo EX30*

* Indicates electric vehicle

 

 

[T-dubz]

Prius, Colorado, EV9

[Rick73]

15 hours ago, T-dubz said:

Prius, Colorado, EV9

I like new Prius shape, but Accord Hybrid may offer more value.  I’d have to see and drive both to compare, but Accord is extremely similar in size to Fusion, and Accord EX-L trim is rated 51/44/48 combined, so the smaller Prius wouldn’t save much additional gas for those concerned with fuel efficiency.  Granted, base Prius starting price is lower, and available as plug-in.

[rperez817]

1 hour ago, Rick73 said:

I like new Prius shape, but Accord Hybrid may offer more value.

 

Ioniq 6 SE (the 3rd finalist in the 2024 NACOTY car category) offers a great combination of style and value.

 

If Hyundai were an American company and if it offered a direct-to-consumer sales model for BEV, I would have bought an Ioniq 6 rather than a Tesla Model 3 earlier this year.

 

[Rick73]

27 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

Ioniq 6 SE (the 3rd finalist in the 2024 NACOTY car category) offers a great combination of style and value.

 

If Hyundai were an American company and if it offered a direct-to-consumer sales model for BEV, I would have bought an Ioniq 6 rather than a Tesla Model 3 earlier this year.

It could easily win, though style is controversial and not for everyone.  Still, that 5 out of 9 finalist are BEV suggests a trend or perhaps bias in process.  Hard to say since it’s all so subjective.

 

Ionic has very good range and great charging speed for the price, so it may come down to looks.  I personally find the general shape of Accord and Prius more appealing.

[rmc523]

1 hour ago, rperez817 said:

 

Ioniq 6 SE (the 3rd finalist in the 2024 NACOTY car category) offers a great combination of style and value.

 

If Hyundai were an American company and if it offered a direct-to-consumer sales model for BEV, I would have bought an Ioniq 6 rather than a Tesla Model 3 earlier this year.

 

 

I find the 6 to be odd looking and poorly proportioned with its odd, droopy rear end.

[Rick73]

1 hour ago, rmc523 said:

 

I find the 6 to be odd looking and poorly proportioned with its odd, droopy rear end.

The droopy rear end is what I find most unattractive.  I expect it’s all done in name of lower aerodynamic drag, but given that Ionic 6 and new Tesla Model 3 have identical claimed Cd of only 0.219, I much prefer the new Model 3 general shape.

 

As point of reference, the Accord is shaped similar to discontinued Fusion, which had Cd of 0.275 according to one report.  That’s also in same range of newest Camry.  Obviously BEVs have advantage of smoother underbelly which helps.  Greater ICE cooling requirement also affects Cd.  

[pictor]

4 hours ago, rperez817 said:

 

Ioniq 6 SE (the 3rd finalist in the 2024 NACOTY car category) offers a great combination of style and value.

 

If Hyundai were an American company and if it offered a direct-to-consumer sales model for BEV, I would have bought an Ioniq 6 rather than a Tesla Model 3 earlier this year.

 

Agreed, I bought the model 3 LR because it was hard to argue with the 11,000 tax benefit, 7500 feds, 3500 Massachusetts.  A great trade in offer for 9 year old Audi and the online buying process made this the most painless car buying experience since I purchased my first new car back in the 1980s.  Looked at the Mach e, the Hyundai’s, Kia’s among others and nothing even came close for a plus 300 mile range vehicle from range and cost perspective. The vaporware cars such as the Pear or model 2 may fit the bill but I was looking to get an EV before I retire early next year. Between the Maverick for hauling stuff and towing the boat and Model 3 for kicking around town or driving to Maine on the weekends, we are pretty well covered.

[Deanh]

2 hours ago, Rick73 said:

The droopy rear end is what I find most unattractive.  I expect it’s all done in name of lower aerodynamic drag, but given that Ionic 6 and new Tesla Model 3 have identical claimed Cd of only 0.219, I much prefer the new Model 3 general shape.

 

As point of reference, the Accord is shaped similar to discontinued Fusion, which had Cd of 0.275 according to one report.  That’s also in same range of newest Camry.  Obviously BEVs have advantage of smoother underbelly which helps.  Greater ICE cooling requirement also affects Cd.  

god that Hyundais an ugly car....makes the Infiniti G20 from yesteryear look attaractive

[jpd80]

Voting by 50 automotive journalists who know where their advertising dollars come from……

[tbone]

12 hours ago, rperez817 said:

 

Ioniq 6 SE (the 3rd finalist in the 2024 NACOTY car category) offers a great combination of style and value.

 

Either you need to have your eyes checked or you just gaslighting everyone.  That thing is hideous and not even remotely in the same hemisphere as the Model 3 aesthetically.  

[Rick73]

Some great classic cars from the 1940s also had a droopy rear trunk area, including Fords, which curved down at the rear yet looked fine.  Maybe what looks odd to me on the Ionic is not so much the very back end as much as the curved beltline resembling an arch.  I can see why some will like it and others not.  For aerodynamic improvements an arch-shaped roofline that now includes windshield has become more common and doesn’t stand out as badly (can actually look modern), but the Ionic’s arch shape at lower elevation somehow doesn’t look right to me.  I’m not into design so likely using wrong terms/names. 

[Chrisgb]

Styling is subjective, but IMO, the rear of the Ioniq 6 is literally butt ugly. Manufacturers need to concentrate more on reasonable charge times and less on aero.Hyundai says that the standard range will soon be EPA rated at 361 miles, and boast that the Ioniq 6 can be charged from 10% to 80% in less than 73 minutes with a 800V DC charger. That's intolerable for any drive longer than 288 mi (80%), let alone headwinds or freezing temps. I'm no physicist, but what capacity charger would be needed to provide a 10-80% charge in 7 point 3 minutes (assuming you could do that without blowing up the car)?  

 

[Rick73]

19 minutes ago, Chrisgb said:

Styling is subjective, but IMO, the rear of the Ioniq 6 is literally butt ugly. Manufacturers need to concentrate more on reasonable charge times and less on aero.Hyundai says that the standard range will soon be EPA rated at 361 miles, and boast that the Ioniq 6 can be charged from 10% to 80% in less than 73 minutes with a 800V DC charger. That's intolerable for any drive longer than 288 mi (80%), let alone headwinds or freezing temps. I'm no physicist, but what capacity charger would be needed to provide a 10-80% charge in 7 point 3 minutes (assuming you could do that without blowing up the car)?  

 

Chris, Edmund’s test indicated the Ionic could charge an additional 100 miles of range in just under 7 minutes, so pretty fast at 868 miles per hour.  That was plugged into 250 kW charger if I recall correctly.  Some SuperChargers are being upgraded to 350 kW.  A problem seems to be average charging rate because many cars don’t charge at peak rate for long.

 

For what it’s worth, I checked my son’s standard Tesla Model 3 and it charged at an average of very close to 500 MPH, and charging is rated much slower than extended range variant.  During a < 15 minute stop, it gained plenty of range to get back from Dallas to Houston area.  He would have made a stop anyway.

Looking at Edmunds data, the Tesla Extended Range Model 3 charged at over 1,000 MPH during peak rate, though average charging power was much lower.  Anyway, it doesn’t take long to gain significant range at 250 kW of power when car can travel over 4 miles per kWh.

 

https://www.edmunds.com/car-news/electric-car-charging.html

[silvrsvt]

5 hours ago, Chrisgb said:

Styling is subjective, but IMO, the rear of the Ioniq 6 is literally butt ugly. Manufacturers need to concentrate more on reasonable charge times and less on aero.Hyundai says that the standard range will soon be EPA rated at 361 miles, and boast that the Ioniq 6 can be charged from 10% to 80% in less than 73 minutes with a 800V DC charger. That's intolerable for any drive longer than 288 mi (80%), let alone headwinds or freezing temps. I'm no physicist, but what capacity charger would be needed to provide a 10-80% charge in 7 point 3 minutes (assuming you could do that without blowing up the car)?  

 

I think your missing something here-most fast chargers can bring batteries up to 80% in 20 minutes or so, its hard to get that last 20% due to various factors while fast charging. 

[DeluxeStang]

On 11/17/2023 at 10:07 AM, rperez817 said:

 

Ioniq 6 SE (the 3rd finalist in the 2024 NACOTY car category) offers a great combination of style and value.

 

If Hyundai were an American company and if it offered a direct-to-consumer sales model for BEV, I would have bought an Ioniq 6 rather than a Tesla Model 3 earlier this year.

 

Everyone has their personal design preferences, but someone near me owns an Ionic 6. I'm convinced they're the ugliest cars on sale at the moment, that picture certainly doesn't do it any favors. Just about anything that could be ugly about a car, it has. It's just far too droopy on both ends, with generic proportions in the middle, and overstyled graphics in the front that don't fit at all. It looks like a bar of soap that was shoved in a gorillas ass. 

[twintornados]

8 hours ago, DeluxeStang said:

.... It looks like a bar of soap that was shoved in a gorillas ass. 

[Chrisgb]

15 hours ago, silvrsvt said:

 

I think your missing something here-most fast chargers can bring batteries up to 80% in 20 minutes or so, its hard to get that last 20% due to various factors while fast charging. 

Correct. I misread Hyundai's website. The 10-80%/73min. is for a 400V Level 3 charging. My problem is that for most of my adult life I've filled my ICE vehicles full each time. With my first car, I would just put in a buck or two's worth (3-6 gallons way back then), and total fill ups were pretty rare. It's hard for me to get my head around the recommendation that my phone and laptop batteries will last longer if charged to around 80% rather than 100% each time. So just putting in a 100 miles worth of electrons pegs my curmudgeonmeter!

Edited November 19, 2023 by Chrisgb

[silvrsvt]

21 hours ago, Chrisgb said:

Correct. I misread Hyundai's website. The 10-80%/73min. is for a 400V Level 3 charging. My problem is that for most of my adult life I've filled my ICE vehicles full each time. With my first car, I would just put in a buck or two's worth (3-6 gallons way back then), and total fill ups were pretty rare. It's hard for me to get my head around the recommendation that my phone and laptop batteries will last longer if charged to around 80% rather than 100% each time. So just putting in a 100 miles worth of electrons pegs my curmudgeonmeter!

 

Yeah I get that-that is why its a bit of a mindset change with EVs, you don't need to keep it at 100% all the time like some people do with gas powered vehicles. Pretty much the only time it would be at 100% is for a long distance trip. 

[rperez817]

On 11/17/2023 at 4:45 PM, pictor said:

Agreed, I bought the model 3 LR because it was hard to argue with the 11,000 tax benefit, 7500 feds, 3500 Massachusetts.  A great trade in offer for 9 year old Audi and the online buying process made this the most painless car buying experience since I purchased my first new car back in the 1980s.  Looked at the Mach e, the Hyundai’s, Kia’s among others and nothing even came close for a plus 300 mile range vehicle from range and cost perspective. 

 

Congratulations on your Tesla Model 3 pictor! You are correct that Tesla's online, direct to consumer buying experience is the best, most painless automotive retail experience around for consumers. 

 

Hyundai USA announced last week that it's partnering with Amazon to sell vehicles online via the Amazon.com consumer site. Franchised dealers are still involved, so it's not a true direct to consumer experience. Hyundai and Amazon Partner to Deliver Innovative Customer Experiences and Cloud Transformation - Hyundai Newsroom

 

[rperez817]

On 11/17/2023 at 12:34 PM, Rick73 said:

Still, that 5 out of 9 finalist are BEV suggests a trend or perhaps bias in process.

 

It's a trend, specifically, that the superiority of BEV in general keeps gaining more recognition in the automotive press as automakers introduce more of them. Hopefully in 5 years or less, 100% of the finalists will be BEV.

 

Bias in the process isn't an issue in NACTOY because 50 different jurors are involved independently. More information here.  Meet the NACTOY Jurors - North American Car Utility & Truck of the Year (northamericancaroftheyear.org)

 

Quote

Our automotive awards are unique because — instead of being given by a single publication, website, radio or television station — they are given by an independent jury of automotive journalists from the United States and Canada. Each year this unbiased jury of 50 expert print and broadcast journalists combine centuries of discerning experience to determine the winners of the North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year™ awards

Edited November 20, 2023 by rperez817

[Rick73]

Ionic 6 range data has a lot of variation depending on RWD vs AWD, wheel size, and city vs highway driving.  Best range of 361 miles appears based on extended range battery, RWD, and 18” wheels which is most efficient combination.  This combo has 153 MPGe rating.

 

Worst case is 94 MPGe which is for extended range battery, AWD, 20” wheels, and driven on EPA highway cycle.  Since battery is 77.4 kWh, that converts to about 220 miles of EPA highway range with 100% of battery capacity.  Obviously when charging between 10~80% battery capacity, the “useable” road trip range would be well below 200 miles between charges.

 

Car and Driver tested 2023 MY 361-mile Ionic 6 variant and achieved 260 miles at steady 75 MPH.  Using 70% of battery capacity would make the most efficient Ionic 6 good for about 180 miles between charges on a long road trip, which isn’t that bad if driver has convenient access to 250/350 kW SuperChargers along the way.  I could probably get used to driving 2-1/2 to 3 hours and then charging for less than 20 minutes assuming I did not have to wait at all to plug in.

 

[Chrisgb]

24 minutes ago, rperez817 said:

 

It's a trend, specifically, that the superiority of BEV in general keeps gaining more recognition in the automotive press as automakers introduce more of them. Hopefully in 5 years or less, 100% of the finalists will be BEV.

 

Bias in the process isn't an issue in NACTOY because 50 different jurors are involved independently. More information here.  Meet the NACTOY Jurors - North American Car Utility & Truck of the Year (northamericancaroftheyear.org)

 

True, that: 50 jurors... etc, but bias is in the contestants. The subject vehicles in NACTOY's award are only all new or significantly changed vehicles. In nearly all cases, BEVs Phev's Hybrids are the only all new vehicles being produced. As time goes on, ever fewer ICE vehicles will meet that criteria, as ever fewer all new ICE vehicles are being introduced. Unlike Motor Trend or Car & Driver, where a model has won back to back. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think a vehicle has ever won NACTOY in successive years. If Ford brings out the FCEV SuperDuty, It would no doubt win NACTOY in that year, but not the next.

[rperez817]

25 minutes ago, Rick73 said:

Ionic 6 range data has a lot of variation depending on RWD vs AWD, wheel size, and city vs highway driving.  Best range of 361 miles appears based on extended range battery, RWD, and 18” wheels which is most efficient combination.  This combo has 153 MPGe rating.

 

Good points Rick73. Ioniq 6 SE RWD LR is the sweet spot. It's the variant I test drove this summer. MSRP for 2023 model year was $46,615. For model year 2024, Hyundai dropped the price to $43,565. The pricing is very reasonable for the combination of style, quality, efficiency, performance, and refinement this vehicle offers. 

 

But to pictor's point, the federal tax credit available for U.S. domestic BEV like Tesla Model 3 isn't available on Ioniq 6. And even with the recently announced partnership with Amazon, the ordering and buying experience for a new Ioniq 6 is not as pleasant and straightforward compared to a new Model 3. Hyundai USA still has this warning on its website:

[rperez817]

22 minutes ago, Chrisgb said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think a vehicle has ever won NACTOY in successive years. If Ford brings out the FCEV SuperDuty, It would no doubt win NACTOY in that year, but not the next.

 

That's correct Chrisgb, not unless Ford makes substantial changes to FCEV Super Duty in its second year.  Or introduces a new Super Duty Variant, like Super Duty Lightning/BEV in that timeframe. NACTOY says that "The process of selecting the Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year begins with a “long list” of all eligible new or substantially changed vehicles for that year". About NACTOY - The North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (northamericancaroftheyear.org)

 

As an example, Ford F-150 won the truck award for NACTOY multiple times (2023, 2021, 2015, 2009, 2004, 1996) but in each case it involved a redesign or a new variant.