The all-new Ford Mustang Mach-E, an electric vehicle, was named 2021 North American Utility of the Year while the redesigned Ford F-150 pickup was named truck of the year and the Hyundai Elantra took top car honors.
The winners, announced Monday, were selected through a three-part voting process by a jury of 50 automotive journalists from U.S. and Canadian media. The winners were picked from a group of three finalists in each category.
In addition to the Mustang Mach-E, the other finalists for utility vehicle were the new Genesis GV80 and the revived Land Rover Defender. The other truck finalists were the Jeep Gladiator Mojave and Ram 1500 TRX. The Genesis G80 and Nissan Sentra were the other car finalists.
Eligible vehicles are either new or substantially changed and re-engineered. Jurors evaluate each vehicle based on innovation, design, safety performance, technology, driver satisfaction and value.
Utility vehicles became a separate award in 2017.
The winners in 2020 were the Chevrolet Corvette (car), Jeep Gladiator (truck) and Kia Telluride (utility).
The nine finalists for 2021 were selected from a list of 27 semifinalists, narrowed down from an original list of 43 vehicles. Richard Truett, an engineering reporter for Automotive News, is among the jurors.
For a list of previous years’ winners, click here.
