Motor Trend announces SUV of the Year contenders
Motor Trend Sport/Utility of the Year nominees - Click above to view high-res gallery
When Motor Trend picks its favorite sport utility vehicle, the winner will have bragging rights for an entire year. And we'll know all about it, because the victorious company behind the winning crossover or SUV will shout it from the rooftops (and in print, TV and web advertisements) about their shiny golden award. We can argue all day long about whether many of the nominees can be legitimately be considered sport/utlility vehicles, but either way, this year, there are 11 vehicles up for consideration, with pedigrees ranging from a single traditional body-on-frame SUV to a brace of competent and efficient family haulers and richly appointed luxury crossovers.
As Motor Trend Editor-in-Chief Angus McKenzie points out on the magazine's blog, there is only one traditional SUV on the list, and it takes the size and shape of the Toyota 4Runner. The rest of the vehicles are crossovers, with seven of the 11 candidates sporting luxury badging, three coming from General Motors and one stablemate to last year's SUV of the year, the Subaru Outback. When choosing the SUV of the year, MT says it looks at packaging, presentation and intended function, along with obvious criteria like aesthetics and performance. Hit the jump to look over the candidates for the award, click below to check out our high-res gallery, or head over to Motor Trend for more details.
Gallery: 2009 Motor Trend SUV of the Year
[Source: Motor Trend]
Motor Trend 2009 Sport/Utility of the Year nominees:
Toyota 4Runner
Lexus RX
Lincoln MKT
Acura ZDX
Mercedes GLK
Cadillac SRX
GMC Terrain
Audi Q5
Subaru Outback
Chevrolet Equinox
Volvo XC60
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Hamud 10:39AM (10/14/2009)
I am a declared fan of the Volvo XC60, it's amazing.
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audi_arena 10:51AM (10/14/2009)
except for the nav system and the ugly interior, yes I agree.
zamafir 11:09AM (10/14/2009)
dear god that nav sucks. when i was told by a rental company they'd be substituting the volvo (over the audi i'd asked for) i thought 'neat, a chance to try volvo's current best offering'. After a day of driving I firmly resolved never to be stuck with such an truly paltry system again. Why on earth would anyone place the inputs on the steering wheel column?! it's worse than the 8 year old units vw dropped in their MkVs.
As you said though, it looks different and not at all bad from the outside. I'm just not sure why anyone would buy it over a Q5 if interior aesthetics, controls, power, mpg, towing, comfort, handling, entertainment, are at all qualifying factors. I suppose brand loyalty is a big factor, which is good for volvo. I just don't see what it does better than the Q5. And that truly awful nav should be shot, immediately. Competing with the likes of iDrive and MMI, it just doesn’t make sense for Volvo to bring their C game to this segment.
Clippy 11:51AM (10/14/2009)
"I'm just not sure why anyone would buy it over a Q5 "
Reliability and reputation :)
zamafir 12:44PM (10/14/2009)
@Clippy - some day i'll understand why audi reliability is vastly different in north america than it is in the rest of the world... some day.
Alex Hobbs 1:55PM (10/14/2009)
I think the interior of the xc60 is very nice, seen some Q5s on the road lately and they are much better looking in person than in pictures unfortunately my experience as well as that of friends is that Audi's are nothing but endless problems. That aside I would say this is a race between the Q5 and the xc60, the Q5 takes fun to drive SUV to the next level while Volvo takes SUV safety to the next, we'll see.
Hellas 2:11PM (10/14/2009)
I dont know why everyone still talks about reliability and Audi...I am on my second A4 and in the past 6 years I have not had a single problem with them.
By contrast, my 07 Aura has seen the dealer 6 times in 2 years for problems....tie rods, squeeky seats, warped rotors etc...
Its been a long time since the 90's people....give it up.
Clippy 2:55PM (10/14/2009)
@Zamafir "some day i'll understand why audi reliability is vastly different in north america than it is in the rest of the world... some day. "
I live 10km from the VW plant, which produces both VWs and Audis. Rebadging is understatement. And the workers are far from hard-working and keen to details. More like "let's put this quickly together and go for a smoke", it's not our car anyway. The amount of stuff that is being stolen and carried out of the factory premises is also interesting. Best quality Q7 and Touareg parts on sale outside for a fraction of retail price or being handed to worker's friends, dodgy parts being put into the manufactured cars. Fuel pumps, wishbones and turbos (still, even after so many years) are the number one parts that dealers are ordering as they are plagued with malfunctions. Not mentioning the tacky interior of Audis, which looks good on the outside, but is terrible once taken apart. List can go on. A8 and R8 are the only "luxury" models in the whole Audi range, because at least some attention is paid while building them. Rest of the line-up is mediocre at best. Demographics of European buyers says a lot - wannabe managers, posseurs and people who pretend to be important despite being nobody usually drive Passat or A4/A6 in cheap trim. Most successful managers tend to be loyal to Mercedes despite its controversial styling. Government officials and various mafia thugs prefer BMWs (not a compliment either but hey...). Individuals with special taste go for Jags or Maserati Quattroportes. Considering car theft - BMWs and Mercedes are usually stolen and delivered as they are to the "customer", VWs and Audis are taken apart and sold for parts (seems like demand for spare parts is high, and no, they are not put back together at the detsination). Did i say that VW, Audi and Skoda belong to the most stolen cars in Central and Eastern Europe?
I don't blame you for being a VW/Audi fanboy. Personally i like R32, legendary RS2, S8 and R8. But the brand would be far from luxurious if it wasn't for their top models. But i guess Americans buy anything that has certain badge attached to it, be it BMW, Audi or MB.
MixiM 5:53PM (10/14/2009)
XC60 has the integrated and proper working city safety... If you care for your life the XC60 is the better buy, (not saying the q5 is unsafe)... As the rest of the points go, it would be a q5 win..
Blown tranny 10:45AM (10/14/2009)
When are we going to admit that "SUV" has become a completely arbitrary and meaningless designation.
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Ian B. 10:57AM (10/14/2009)
Lets replace it with: Agricultural-based Vehicle of the Year award.
auto.design 10:46AM (10/14/2009)
The Audi Q5, it's immensely impressive. Not a hard choice...for me.
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audi_arena 10:51AM (10/14/2009)
The Q5 is so good I would actually consider driving one every day.
zamafir 11:10AM (10/14/2009)
agreed, over an a4 avant any day of the week. hell or an a4.
montoym 11:18AM (10/14/2009)
I agree. The tests and reviews of the Q5 up to this point have all praised it. If it's not the Q5, I can't really see what other vehicle in that list would outshine it.
You have to remember the criteria for MT's honor as well. It's not necessarily just the fastest, most capapble, cheapest etc. out there, but based on 3 key criteria they have come up with.
The 3 are:
1. SUPERIORITY.
We look at engineering excellence, advancement in design, utilization of resources, and safety. Vehicle concept and execution are important, as are use of materials, packaging, dynamics, styling, and fuel consumption.
2. SIGNIFICANCE.
How well does the vehicle do the job its maker intended it to do? And how does it affect or change its particular market segment, influence consumer perceptions, and transform product development trends?
3. VALUE.
How a vehicle compares against its direct rivals. A vehicle with a low sticker price might not be as good a value as a more expensive vehicle that delivers outstanding performance, quality, and functionality.
Based on those, I honestly think that the Q5 best meets those criteria. I'd put in a good word for the Equinox as well though, it really has upped the game for Chevy and represents a big step forward.
Interesting to note, as MotorTrend does, that the 4Runner is the only true SUV on the list, everything else is essentially a crossover. Granted, the list changes each year based on new models, but that's still something to note. Perhaps Motortrend will have to add a Crossover of the Year Award in the coming years?
HotRodzNKustoms 10:48AM (10/14/2009)
I would have to say the Chevrolet Equinox it is the right SUV for the times. But I know they won't pick it.
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Epyx 10:56AM (10/14/2009)
I agree, 32mpg is pretty impressive.
The Other Bob 11:10AM (10/14/2009)
I agree. I was shocked when I looked at the interior of an LTZ I saw on a lot. It is very impressive.
geo.stewart 10:48AM (10/14/2009)
My vote is on the Equinox, as I expect it to upset the apple cart the most. SRX is second bid. While I like a couple of others, and may like them better, I see these two as the biggest game changers and thats really what the xOTY is SUPPOSED to be about.
My guess is a lot of it has to do with advertising dollars, which GM may still turn out the winner.
personally, i think it needs to be renamed 'jacked up wagon of the year' but thats just me, and then where do you put an abomination like the zdx (and mcelroy wants to pick on US mftrs for letter combos?)
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Bob-omb 10:56AM (10/14/2009)
If by "game changer" you mean an SUV that is barely better than the outgoing Vue, then yeah, I suppose the Equinox is a game changer.