The best cars of 2026, revealed

Zoom in: The Dodge Charger — including the first all-electric Charger Daytona — took best car; Ford Maverick Lobo won best truck, and Hyundai Palisade won best SUV.

💭 My thought bubble: I'm on the NACTOY jury, and my personal picks were the Nissan Sentra (starting at $22,600), along with the winning Maverick Lobo ($35,930) and Palisade ($39,435).

• While all three winners are outstanding and deserve recognition, my choices this year were driven by one overwhelming criterion: value for the money.
• With the average new-car price topping $50,000, too many buyers are priced out of the market.
• Companies that develop well-equipped models that don't break your wallet should be rewarded.

How it works: The independent NACTOY jury is a democracy, and the majority wins.

• Our diverse group of 50 print, broadcast and digital automotive journalists evaluates vehicles based on our own assessments during test drives throughout the year.

The fine print: Vehicles are not judged against one another (unless they compete in the same market segment). Rather, we look for vehicles that set a new benchmark in their individual segment.

• Voting criteria include outstanding innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction, user experience and value.

NACTOY's finalists by category:

Best car: Dodge Charger/Daytona, Nissan Sentra, Honda Prelude

Best truck: Ford Maverick Lobo, Ram 1500, Ram Heavy Duty

Best utility: Hyundai Palisade, Nissan Leaf, Lucid Gravity