"What's the best car you've ever driven?"
As car reviewers, we get asked that question all the time. But since we drive so many cars throughout the year—Motor1 published just shy of 200 reviews and first drives in 2024—digging through our mental Rolodex and trying to select one single vehicle worthy of being dubbed the "best" is nearly impossible. But hey, we try all the same.
That's why we're introducing the first-annual Motor1 Best of the Best Awards. Each year, we'll put together our collective noggins and pick the very best vehicles from the previous 12 months out of three respective categories:
- Best Car
- Best Truck
- Best SUV
Of course, we had to follow a few rules. We love rules.
To qualify for our Best of the Best Awards, each vehicle must have been new, facelifted, or significantly updated in the previous year. It also must have been a vehicle we've driven in the past year or so, be it a first drive or a full review.
And since our Cool Car Cup takes the best performance cars of the year and puts them to the test on the track (which you should read if you haven't), we're sticking with the normal stuff for this one—SUVs your mom might buy, sedans your sister would consider. Since there aren't as many new trucks, we're leaving that category more wide open.
Thankfully, this past year was chock full of exciting new products.
Dozens of automakers released updates or all-new iterations of their cars, trucks, and SUVs for the 2024 and 2025 model years, making it tough to whittle down to just three favorites. But worry not, Motor1 reader, we tirelessly traversed the globe—from Spartanburg to Spain—in search of this year's Best of the Best.
After countless discussions, many spreadsheets, and a few friendly arguments, we narrowed the field down to one winner per category with two runner-ups each. That way you can get an idea of which cars nearly made the cut, and how we decided upon each winner.
Stay tuned throughout the week as we roll out the first winners of our new Best of the Best Awards, and make sure to follow along on social media.
And the next time your grandma asks, "What’s the best car to buy?"—you'll have an answer.
