Here Are the 2020 MotorTrend Car, Truck, and SUV of the Year Contenders and Finalists
Plus: The ins and outs of Car, Truck, and SUV of the Year testing
MotorTrend's Car, Truck, and SUV of the Year rollout is finally here! If you want to know what the hottest and best new cars are, or which new or significantly updated SUV or truck is worth your money, you're in the right place. No one tests cars, trucks, and SUVs as exhaustively and thoughtfully as MotorTrend, and on the evening of November 18, we'll reveal the 2020 Car, Truck, SUV, and Person of the Year.Check MotorTrend.com later tonight for info on our winners!
Below, check out our contenders and finalists. If you're curious about how we test, swipe/scroll down to learn more.
- The 2020 Car of the Year is...
- The 2020 Truck of the Year is...
- The 2020 SUV of the Year is...
- The 2020 Person of the Year is...
2020 Car of the Year contenders:
- BMW Z4 here
- BMW 3 Series here
- BMW 7 Series here
- BMW 8 Series here
- Cadillac CT5 here
- Kia K900 here
- Kia Niro EV here
- Mazda3 here
- Nissan Leaf Plus here
- Nissan Versa here
- Toyota Corolla here
- Volkswagen Arteon here
2020 Car of the Year finalists:
- Audi A8 here
- Chevrolet Corvette here
- Kia Soul here
- Mercedes A-Class here
- Mercedes-AMG GT here
- Porsche 911 Carrera S here
- Subaru Legacy here
- Tesla Model 3here
- Toyota Supra here
2020 SUV of the Year contenders:
- Audi Q3 here
- Audi Q8 here
- BMW X3Mhere
- BMW X7 here
- Cadillac XT6 here
- Chevrolet Blazer here
- Ford Escape here
- Ford Explorer here
- Honda Passport here
- Hyundai Palisade here
- Jaguar F-Pacehere
- Jeep Renegade here
- Lexus UX here
- Lincoln Nautilushere
- Mercedes-Benz GLE-Classhere
- Range Rover Evoquehere
- Volvo V60 Cross Countryhere
2020 SUV of the Year finalists:
- Audi E-Tron here
- BMW X5 here
- Kia Telluride here
- Lincoln Aviator here
- Lincoln Corsair here
- Mercedes-Benz GLS here
- Porsche Cayenne here
- Subaru Outback here
2020 Truck of the Year finalists:
- Chevrolet Silverado 1500 here
- Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD here
- Ford Ranger here
- GMC Sierra 1500 here
- GMC Sierra 3500HD here
- Jeep Gladiator here
- Ram Heavy Duty here
- Ram 1500 here
0:00 / 0:00
How We Test
How we test our Car, Truck, and SUV of the Year contenders has changed as much as we have over the past seven decades. Although dynamic testing can give a sense of the limits of these cars, we also test in real-world situations a typical driver would encounter. Our Of The Year testing methods are well established, but we're never above trying new things to improve our process in the blazing summer heat of these desert proving grounds. Here's how we tested and evaluated our 2020 field:
Car of the Year
Our 33 cars were delivered to the Hyundai Motor Group California Proving Ground in California City, where our test team conducted the usual 0-60, 60-0, quarter-mile, figure-eight, and accident-avoidance maneuvers over the course of a week. Then our judges spent two days driving every eligible vehicle on multiple proving ground test areas (winding road, high-speed oval, and numerous intentionally distressed road surfaces) before culling the list to our finalists. The following two days consisted of real-world testing the finalists on our 27.6-mile road loop surrounding nearby Tehachapi.
SUV of the Year
The SUV testing and judging process functions a lot like Car, except it's hosted at Honda Proving Center of California in Cantil and incorporates an off-road course that simulates driving in inclement climes. This year's off-road portion added offset moguls that each of our 41 vehicles would climb and descend to test their all-wheel-drive systems. After a week of testing and two days of judging at the proving ground, we took our finalists to Tehachapi to test them on our road loop—which incorporates the stop-start slog of city driving, a steep grade, a twisting back road, battered secondary roads, several railroad crossings, and of course an open highway run spent dodging an endless procession of big rigs.
Truck of the Year
Truck saw some extensive changes designed to better mimic how pickups are used. Testing officially started at our local test track in Fontana, where we payload-tested our midsize and half-ton pickup contenders using stacks of 100-pound horse mats. Our midsizers were tested with 1,000 pounds in their beds, and our half-tons got 1,500 pounds. Heavy-duty trucks, with their higher payload capacities, were excluded this year.
We then convoyed to Kingman, Arizona, and evaluated our 12 contenders on our 21.5-mile road loop. The next couple days were spent at FCA's Arizona Proving Ground. The test team would gather data on our trucks while empty and while towing a trailer weighing about three-quarters of each pickup's max-tow capacity (check out the individual charts to see how much each truck towed). Meanwhile, the rest of the judges towed the same trailers through the proving ground and evaluated each unladen truck on an off-road course. After the proving ground, we wrapped up our program in Bullhead City, using the 5.8-mile, 5.2 percent average grade Davis Dam pass to evaluate how each truck handles three-quarters of its max tow capacity in the real world. With all the data in hand, we'd be able to pick our winners.
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
Read More
