Awards & overall
MotorTrend Car, SUV & Truck of the Year (2026)
Ranked from the MotorTrend Car, SUV and Truck of the Year (2026). CarOutlay adds the ownership-cost lens — what each result means for the real 5-year cost of owning the car.
The ranking
The three 2026 MotorTrend Of the Year winners, followed by notable finalists in each program.
- Volkswagen Golf GTI / R Car of the Year Car of the Year
- Cadillac Escalade IQ SUV of the Year
- Ford Maverick Truck of the Year
- BMW M2 Car of the Year finalist
- Audi A6 / S6 e-tron Car of the Year finalist
- Dodge Charger Daytona EV Car of the Year finalist
- Honda Civic Hybrid Hatchback Car of the Year finalist
- Mercedes-AMG E53 Car of the Year finalist
- Ram 1500 Hemi Truck of the Year finalist
- Chevrolet Silverado EV Trail Boss Truck of the Year finalist
- GMC Sierra EV Elevation Truck of the Year finalist
- Ram 2500 Truck of the Year finalist
Why this matters for your cost of ownership
Two of MotorTrend's six judging criteria — value and efficiency — are direct cost-of-ownership inputs, which is why a thrifty, attainable vehicle like the Ford Maverick can beat far pricier rivals. But an Of the Year trophy rewards excellence against a vehicle's mission, not its running costs: the Escalade IQ is a brilliant machine and an expensive one to insure and depreciate, while the Maverick is cheap on every line. Use the winners as a quality signal, then separate them by price tag. Drop any winner or finalist into our TCO calculator to see whether its 'excellence' comes with a five-year bill you want to pay.
Open the 5-Year TCO calculatorHow this ranking is measured
MotorTrend runs three separate Of the Year programs — Car, SUV and Truck — and each is judged the same way. Every eligible new or substantially redesigned vehicle is invited, put through instrumented testing and real-world driving, and scored against six fixed criteria: advancement in design, engineering excellence, performance of intended function, efficiency, value and safety. Judges narrow the field to finalists and then a single winner per program. Crucially, a vehicle wins on its merits against its own mission, not by class — so a compact pickup (Maverick) and a six-figure electric SUV (Escalade IQ) can each take a trophy in the same year.
Source: MotorTrend, Car, SUV and Truck of the Year (2026). Each Of the Year program evaluates all eligible new and substantially updated models against six criteria, with finalists chosen after instrumented testing and judging by MotorTrend's editorial staff. View the original study ↗
Frequently asked questions
What won MotorTrend Car of the Year 2026?
The Volkswagen Golf GTI/R won the 2026 MotorTrend Car of the Year. In the companion programs, the Cadillac Escalade IQ won 2026 SUV of the Year and the Ford Maverick won 2026 Truck of the Year.
How does MotorTrend judge Of the Year?
MotorTrend invites every eligible new or substantially redesigned vehicle, runs instrumented and real-world testing, and scores each against six criteria: advancement in design, engineering excellence, performance of intended function, efficiency, value and safety. It picks one winner each for Car, SUV and Truck. A vehicle is judged on how well it fulfills its own mission, not against a fixed class.
Does winning Of the Year mean low cost of ownership?
Not by itself. Value and efficiency are two of the six criteria, so winners are rarely wasteful — the Ford Maverick is genuinely cheap to own. But the award rewards overall excellence, and some winners (like the Cadillac Escalade IQ) are premium vehicles with high insurance and depreciation. Use the trophy as a quality cue, then check the specific model's real five-year cost.
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