Honda Civic Hybrid, Ford Ranger, VW ID. Buzz Win 2025 North American Vehicle Awards

/ By

By Mike Hanley, Senior Road Test Editor at  cars.com

 

Automotive award season is in full swing, and the winners of the 2025 North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year awards were announced earlier today at the 2025 Detroit Auto Show. The Honda Civic hybrid was named Car of the Year, while the Ford Ranger and Volkswagen ID. Buzz took the Truck and Utility of the Year awards, respectively. (Full disclosure: I’m one of 50 automotive journalists who vote for these NACTOY award winners.)

 2025 North American Car of the Year Honors

Honda-Civic-Hybrid

The Civic hybrid topped the all-new Kia K4 compact sedan and redesigned Toyota Camry for Car of the Year honors. The K4 takes the place of the Forte in the brand’s lineup, and the Camry now comes exclusively with a gas-electric hybrid powertrain that gets up to 51 mpg combined, according to EPA estimates. The Civic was last fully redesigned for the 2022 model year, but it was freshened for 2025, and the car’s new hybrid system, which gets up to 49 mpg combined, is available for both sedan and hatchback versions.

2025 North American  Truck of the Year Award

Ford-Ranger

The Ranger beat out the Ram 1500 and Toyota Tacoma for the Truck of the Year award. The redesigned Ranger debuted for 2024 with a new look and tech updates shared with Ford’s full-size F-150 pickup truck; a new twin-turbo V-6 engine also joined the lineup. The Tacoma was also fully redesigned for 2024. In addition to new styling inside and out, it also has new turbocharged engines, including one that’s paired with a hybrid system making 326 horsepower combined. The redesigned Ram also brought the power with a new available twin-turbo inline-six engine dubbed Hurricane that makes up to 540 hp in high-output form.

2025 North American Utility of the Year

Volkswagen-ID-Buzz

Finally, two of the three finalists in the Utility category were electric vehicles: the Chevrolet Equinox EV compact SUV and Volkswagen ID. Buzz van, and they were joined by the Hyundai Santa Fe mid-size SUV. Featuring retro design cues and spacious seating in its three rows of seats, the ID. Buzz comes in rear- or all-wheel-drive form and offers up to 234 miles of driving range on a full charge.

If you’re looking for even more automotive awards, Cars.com will be publishing its Best of 2025 awards in six categories — Best Car of the Year, Best Pickup Truck, Best Family Car, Best Luxury Car, Best SUV and Best Electric Vehicle — ahead of the 2025 Chicago Auto Show in early February. For information on all of the winners, finalists and nominees, keep an eye on our awards page.

 

Mike Hanley

Mike Hanley has more than 20 years of experience reporting on the auto industry. His primary focus is new vehicles, and he’s currently a Senior Road Test Editor overseeing expert car reviews and comparison tests. He previously managed Editorial content in the Cars.com Research section.