Every year there are a number of new and significantly refreshed trucks that hit the market. These include completely new trucks and trucks that get powertrain as well as design changes. This year the initial list of trucks that qualified for the North American Truck of the Year numbered seven. Two trucks were voted off the island, and five remain. Let’s dig into the nominees and if I agree with the semi-finalists.
Full disclosure: I am on the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year (NACTOY) jury, and I did vote in this contest.
Truck of the Year candidates
The full list of new or significantly refreshed trucks for 2025 included the Ford F-150, Ford Ranger, GMC Sierra EV, Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster, Ram 1500, Rivian R1T and Toyota Tacoma. NACTOY jurors were given the list of seven trucks, and we can vote for up to five, but if we like only one or two or three, we can vote for just those trucks.
For this semi-finalist vote, jurors traditionally vote not only for vehicles they have driven and liked but also those vehicles they will drive before the final voting and think have potential.
The two trucks voted off the island this year: Ford F-150 (which was refreshed) and Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster (which is all new).
So, the five Truck of the Year semifinalists for 2025 are:
- Ford Ranger
- GMC Sierra EV
- Ram 1500
- Rivian R1T
- Toyota Tacoma
The one truck I wish would have made it through to the semi-finalists is the 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster. It’s unique, stylish and completely new, not only in the U.S. but also around the world. (Photo by Jill Ciminillo)
Do I agree with this list?
For the most part, I do agree with the semi-finalists, with one exception. I would like to have seen the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster make the list.
The NACTOY award looks at the following criteria: design, safety, performance, technology, user experience, driver satisfaction and value. Since I was only able to spend a day with the vehicle, talking about driver satisfaction and user experience is tough, especially with the Ineos quirks. But I have talked to a couple of owners as well as a couple of women who are competing in an Ineos Grenadier (which is the SUV version of the Quartermaster) in the 2024 Rebelle Rally, and their satisfaction with the vehicle is off the charts. From a design standpoint, it looks like nothing else on the road, and I love it. In terms of off-road performance, it’s up there with Jeep and Land Rover in terms of being able to go anywhere. It falls down a bit on the value proposition because of the dreaded Chicken Tax. But it’s meant to be exclusive, so the $86k base price doesn’t bother me.
Which truck would I boot from the list? The GMC Sierra EV—and it’s not just because of the lack of Apple CarPlay, though that’s part of it. I’m also still warming up to the idea of a full-size electric truck that will have problems doing full-size truck things because of the range. It’s the same reason I didn’t vote for the Ford F-150 Lightning a couple years ago.
So, why would I keep the all-electric Rivian R1T on the list? It’s more of a lifestyle vehicle than a truck meant to do truck things. And, no, it doesn’t have Apple CarPlay either.
The bottom line
Awards are always subjective, but we have 50 automotive journalists from publications like Car & Driver, Road & Track, Cars.com, Popular Science, Kelley Blue Book—and so on. So, there’s a lot of expertise behind this vote. Do you agree with the semi-finalists? If not, which trucks would you have picked and why?
