Hi, I'm John Davis and this is MotorWeek !

It's time for our 2025 Drivers' Choice Awards!

Our picks for the Best Cars, Trucks, Utilities, and overall Best of the Year!

Audra Fordin holds a forgotten fluids workshop...

While, Greg Carloss looks back on the icons of American Motors...

So, come drive with us, next!

Closed Captioning provided by Maryland Public Television.

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JOHN: Being in the business of testing cars, we often get asked by friends and family, "What kind of car should I buy?"

Well, our annual Drivers' Choice Awards are always a good place to start!

Our list of the Best Cars, Trucks, and Utilities that we've driven over the past year.

So, let's get right to it, with a look at the cars that are indeed the stars for 2025!

♪ ♪ With fewer true family sedans to choose from, there are all kinds of different vehicles performing family duties these days.

But for us, it's still traditional mid-size 4-doors that get the job done with the least fuss, and no vehicle elevates the segment more this year than the Toyota Camry.

It's feature-packed, with a standard hybrid powertrain for up to 51 miles per gallon combined.

An electronic all-wheel-drive setup that's available with any trim, not to mention luxury car levels of comfort and technology, plus, great all-around performance.

Toyota has taken years of Prius innovation, combined it with a Lexus upmarket feel, added a touch of versatility from crossovers, to design a family sedan with true all-around capabilities.

Making Camry an easy choice as our Best Family Car Winner.

For our Best Luxury Car Award, it was another easy pick.

With almost 100 years of producing the best in automotive design and luxury, Mercedes-Benz delivered on all counts with a new E-Class sedan.

It has the stately presence of a full-size sedan, sumptuous materials throughout, multiple powertrain options, a spectacular driving experience, available all-wheel-drive, and enough tech to truly wow anyone lucky enough to enjoy the drive with you.

And an all-new E-Class is always a cause for celebration, as with its arrival a new benchmark is set for all luxury vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz proves that even while pushing forward with EVs throughout their portfolio, you can still give your traditional buyers the experience they're looking for.

In a class full of special vehicles, it's a special winner.

The definition of a sport sedan has clearly changed over the years, with upscale treatment for the driver now just as important as on track performance.

And while Genesis remains a newcomer to the segment, their G70 sedan overachieves in all categories, including powertrain with your choice of a standard 300 horsepower 2.5 liter turbo-4 or a 365 horsepower turbocharged 3.3 liter V6.

Not only can it hang with traditional European sport sedans on the track, but it's truly comforting for the daily drive, and looks incredibly classy while doing it all.

It's the second time the G70 has won our Best Sport Sedan award, and proof that Genesis is doing whatever it takes to fully infiltrate the sport luxury scene.

(tires screeching) Take away two doors and you arrive at our Best Sport Coupe, along with some delightful surprises; it's the Dodge Charger Daytona, the first Charger you actually have to charge.

Yes, Dodge is back in the car making business, and their first BEV is also the first fully-electric vehicle to win one of our awards outside the EV category.

And if you think swapping the HEMI for batteries and electric motors would somehow neuter Dodge's obnoxious attitude, you'd be wrong, as they delivered a 670 horsepower beast that roars with the same attitude and sounds as every genuine muscle car that's been rolling out of Detroit since the 1960s.

It's an EV that only Dodge could build... (tires screeching) ...and we're awfully glad they did.

And it's another EV that takes our Best Performance Car Award, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N. For us, it was the first EV we've driven that truly delivered a performance car experience for all the senses, making lap times in the IONIQ 5 N just as rewarding as any ICE car we drove this year.

Hyundai's N performance brand left no stone unturned, giving their IONIQ 5 EV a track-worthy makeover, turning it into a pint-sized powerhouse performer that had us grinning ear to ear every time we got behind the wheel.

Track days are going to look and sound a whole lot different from here on out... (engine revs) ...thanks to the IONIQ 5 N. It was the easiest choice we had this year.

(engine revs/tires screech This is just the start of our MotorWeek Drivers' Choice Awards.

We'll be back in a few minutes with a look at our Best Truck and Utility Winners.

♪ ♪ With over four decades of covering the auto industry, we've seen our fair share of car brands, and even entire companies, come and go, but few left as big a mark as the American Motors Corporation.

From 1954 to 1987, AMC built over 12 million sedans, hatchbacks, SUVs and even muscle cars.

Well this week, Greg Carloss goes "Over the Edge" with a MotorWeek alum to flex some of that AMC muscle.

♪ ♪ GREG CARLOSS: I don't know about you, but when I think of AMC, I think of the Gremlin and the Pacer, even Wayne's World; but, there's a lot more to AMC than just weird cars for weird people.

And speaking of weird people, MotorWeek alumni Joe Ligo is here to tell us about some AMC history.

JOE LIGO: Yeah thanks for the compliment.

But yeah, you're right, there is more to AMC than just economy cars.

And today, I'm going to talk about some of my favorite AMC muscle cars.

Now, you might remember the AMC Javelin, that's their Mustang/Camaro competitor.

But, AMC was always good at stretching the dollar.

So, what they did is they took a Javelin chassis, shortened it about a foot, took the back seat out of it and created this car, the AMX.

GREG: Well, I hope you didn't bring this here just to talk about it and look at.

Can I actually, get in and drive it?

JOE: Yeah, sure!

Let's go for a ride!

GREG: Let's do it!

JOE: So, what do you think?

GREG: I like this part about it.

It's got some get up and go, for sure.

Is that manual steering?

JOE: Yeah, yeah.

So, power steering was optional.

V8 came standard, but you had to pay extra for power steering.

GREG: So, back in the day, what were the competitors for this car?

JOE: It's a bit of an in-betweener.

You know, I guess you could say it's a poor man's Corvette, but, you know, there's nothing poor about it.

It's a fun car to drive.

JOE: And they only sold them for three years, so today they're pretty rare.

GREG: Well, that's a really fun street car.

JOE: Yeah, exactly.

But, you know, as the muscle car wars were heating up, the real fun was happening at the drag strip.

And that's where this car comes in.

When AMC pulled a classic muscle car move and put their biggest engine in their smallest car.

GREG: It certainly looks the part of a drag car.

JOE: And it came from the factory looking like this!

This is a specially-equipped Hurst SC Rambler.

And my friend Homer is going to take you for a real ride.

GREG: All right, man, let's see what you got in this thing.

(engine revs taking off) Nice, nice!

(engine revs) Nicely done, you've done this before haven't you?

DARRIN "HOMER" BOECKEL: I've done this before!

(chuckles) GREG: Man, that was awesome!

JOE: Wasn't it?

GREG: So, we've done the sports car.

We've done the drag car.

Where did AMC go from there?

JOE: Well, as the muscle car era came to an end, AMC wanted to stay in the fight, so that's where this comes in.

This is a 1977 Hornet AMX.

GREG: Well, it's an AMX so it's got to be fast, right?

(AMX Hornet takes off slowly) GREG: This is not fast.

JOE: No, it's not.

But there's a good reason for that.

So, by the middle of the '70s, the whole industry had been through oil crisis; you know, government regulations were clamping down on air pollution; you know, engines had lost a lot of horsepower; so, performance was not a big priority for AMC or, frankly, any of the U.S. automakers.

While, the Big Three started to recover and find new ways to profitability, American Motors really struggled in the late '70s.

GREG: So, was this really the start of the end for American Motors?

JOE: I mean, I wouldn't blame it on the Hornet AMX.

This was only a tiny niche product.

But yeah, you start to see they don't have the money to do 100 percent clean sheet new designs like the Big Three were doing and it became a bit of a dire straits for the company.

GREG: Joe, how do you know so much about AMC?

JOE: Well, this is more than just a hobby for me.

My friends and I are actually working on a documentary about the history of American Motors Corporation called "The Last Independent Automaker."

GREG: Well, how can we watch it?

JOE: It's coming to public TV stations soon, and we even have some vintage MotorWeek footage and even an interview with John Davis himself.

GREG: That's awesome.

We'll have to put that info on our website.

But I got to ask, can we hop out of here and get back into that Rambler?

JOE: Well, I think I could convince Homer to give you one more ride.

GREG: Nice!

JOHN: If you think your trusted mechanic talks a lot about fluids, it's because likely they do!

There are so many different ones, unique and important in their own ways.

So, here's our Audra Fordin to go over two often overlooked fluid loops on MotorWeek's "Your Drive."

♪ ♪ AUDRA FORDIN: Two under-hood fluids that are often overlooked are power steering fluid and brake fluid.

Of course, you need to check the levels routinely, but these fluids also need to be changed when they go bad.

Both types of fluid are hygroscopic, which means they absorb moisture from the atmosphere.

Just 2.0 percent moisture can lower the boiling point of brake fluid by 100 degrees.

They also pick up contaminants as they circulate.

So, if either fluid looks dirty or smells burnt, play it safe and flush it out.

Take note if your car needs a lot of effort to steer, or if you hear a whining noise when you're turning the wheel.

That's an indicator your power steering system needs attention.

Now, for brake fluid, there are test strips that can identify the amount of water in the fluid and give you the pH level.

You're going to dip the test strip into the brake fluid in the fluid reservoir, wait 30 seconds and read the results.

If the pH level is below a 7.0, that means its acidic and it can corrode your brake system from the inside.

Power steering fluid can be flushed several ways.

The most common method is to disconnect the low-pressure return hose and direct it into a bucket or a drain pan.

Have a friend start the car and turn the wheel back and forth.

This will pump the old fluid out.

Add new fluid to the reservoir as needed to keep it filled.

Once, you see new fluid draining into the pan, shut off the engine and reconnect the hose.

Another way is to use a fluid extractor or turkey baster to remove the old power steering fluid right from the reservoir.

Top it off with new power steering fluid, start the vehicle and turn the wheel from lock side to lock side, to repeat the process until the old fluid is circulated out.

When you hit the brakes and your pedal is spongy or goes straight to the floor, either you have a leak or you've got air in the system and it needs to be bled.

This can be a DIY job, but it's easier with a friend to help.

You need to locate the bleeder valve on each caliper starting with the furthest from the master cylinder and then working closer.

Put a clear plastic hose over the end of it and submerge the other end in a container of new brake fluid.

Loosen the valve by turning it clockwise, counterclockwise with a wrench, have your friend pump and depress the brake pedal a few times until you stop seeing air bubbles.

Tighten the valve and repeat the process for all four wheels.

Keep an eye on the fluid level in the master cylinder reservoir-- don't let it go below the minimum mark during this process.

If you have any questions or comments reach out to us right here at MotorWeek .

JOHN: Time now to get back to handing out more awards.

This time, for the top trucks and utilities we drove this year-- all are winners of our 2025 Drivers' Choice Awards.

♪ ♪ Change is constant in the automotive world.

But one thing that hasn't changed is that trucks and SUVs continue to eat up more and more market share.

Small utilities remain the biggest drivers of this trend and the Chevrolet Equinox has been a popular choice in this segment since it arrived for 2005.

But never has it truly set the tone for its class quite like the 4th gen Equinox that arrived this year.

It surely looks better than ever, but also packs a greater level of tech and functionality too, making it our clear winner for Best Small Utility.

The Acura MDX was a 3-row, luxury-minded SUV back before that was even a thing, and with a major refresh, there's more luxury and performance than ever.

Yet, its high-value pricing means it often gets cross-shopped with many mainstream mid-size utilities, none of which deliver the experience of the MDX, our Best Mid-size Utility.

We drove plenty of new big 3-row SUVs this year, but none impressed us as much as last year's winner, the Toyota Grand Highlander.

Toyota took everything we loved about the best-selling Highlander and made it bigger, better, and techier.

One year later, dealers still can't keep up with demand, while everyone else is now trying to catch up.

So, it's a repeat Best Large Utility win for the Toyota Grand Highlander.

Admittedly, our Best Luxury Utility winner, the Lincoln Nautilus, has some serious wow-factor; namely the 4.0 feet of display screen that stretches across the entire base of the windshield.

But Nautilus has a yacht-load of true luxury substance too, and it's easily the best-looking Lincoln we've seen in years.

More of this please, Lincoln.

Small pickup trucks are once again a big part of the American truck market.

More than just a more affordable option, trucks like the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon are such great choices because they not only have big truck style, they can get a lot of big truck work done too.

Another repeat winner, as the GM duo of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon take our Best Small Truck Award once again.

If you do need a big pickup, then look to our winner for Best Full-size Truck, the Ram 1500.

The reborn Ram 1500 builds on all its unique class features, from smooth ride all-coil spring suspension to Ram Box storage.

Yet, something was missing; no HEMI V8.

But, the Ram's new top power choice, the twin-turbo Hurricane inline-6, quickly made us a believer.

Ram truck guys willing to buy into the boosted I6 won't be missing the HEMI for long.

Even though EVs have begun winning awards in our traditional categories, we felt there was still a trio of standout EVs that deserve recognition.

Without a doubt the vehicle that had the most buzz around it this year was the Volkswagen ID.

Buzz.

After floating concepts of a new microbus for years, VW has finally delivered.

And underneath this spectacular retro minivan's design is a big-utility's worth of practicality, and an all-electric drivetrain good for up to 234 miles.

The Chevrolet Equinox EV shares almost nothing with the gas-powered Equinox, which also won our Best Small Utility Award.

The Equinox EV is a battery-electric Ute with over 300 miles of standard range for just under 35-grand.

Reason enough for our award; but the Equinox EV also looks fantastic, has the room and comfort families look for in a compact SUV, and common-sense tech that's easy to use.

The Porsche Macan was a game changer when it arrived on the sport utility scene in 2015, and now you can get the same exact driving experience with all-electric power in the Macan Electric.

Add to that, a standard 315 mile range that only drops to 288 miles for the awesome 630 horsepower Turbo.

That's it for our Best Cars, Trucks, and Utilities!

But there's still one more award to go!

Our MotorWeek Drivers' Choice Best of the Year.

So, stay tuned!

So, let's take a break and get away for a little while, behind the wheel of an all-new QuickSpin!

♪ ♪ JESSICA RAY: Hot off the heels of a latest subcompact Kicks, Nissan invited us to Franklin, Tennessee, to drive the other extreme of their SUV lineup, the also all-new 2025 Armada.

This full-size flagship SUV now kicks up more dirt with a new PRO-4X model, which we happily headed off-road in later in the day.

But first, we stuck to the pavement in this redesigned body-on-frame three-rower.

Headlining the changes is the new engine, the V8 usurped by a twin-turbocharged 3.8 liter V6 rated at 425 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque.

ALEXANDER KELLUM: Now, that extra 25 horsepower you're gaining out of it, to be blunt, you're probably not really going to notice that.

But what you will notice is that extra 103 pound-feet of torque.

Now, that's a lot of twist, and it's stuff like that, that makes doing truck things that much easier.

So, I'm talking towing, you know, 8,500 pounds or up to 8,500 pounds.

We're talking payload and we're talking about off-road, which I'm on my way to go demo now in the new PRO-4X.

JESSICA: This trim ups the Armada's adventuring abilities with a locking rear differential, skid plates, and all-terrain tires wrapping unique 20 inch wheels.

It makes for a competent off-roader without going full bore, and the variety of camera views mean you can practically navigate without windows, not that we recommend it.

Speaking of windows, let's talk stickers.

The 2025 Nissan Armada starts around $58,000 with delivery, the Pro-4X around $75,000, with the Platinum Reserve just above that.

We'll have a full Road Test of the 2025 Armada, and more QuickSpins...soon!

JOHN: Picking our list of the best cars, trucks, and Utes of the year is always a tough task, and things haven't gotten any easier with the auto biz going through an electrified sea change.

But there is always one vehicle that stands out above the rest, our MotorWeek's 2025 Drivers' Choice Best of the Year!

♪ ♪ Our 2025 MotorWeek Drivers' Choice Best of the Year is the Chevrolet Equinox EV.

And it's a familiar story, as the Chevrolet Bolt EV won this award 8.0 years ago for mostly the same reasons, making EVs affordable and practical by delivering real-world range with the functionality people expect in SUVs.

Putting specific numbers to that, all versions of the Equinox EV clear the 300 mile threshold, with as many as 319 available; and pricing starts at a more than reasonable $34,995.

It has more and more people thinking, "Hm...maybe I can do an EV."

Based on GM's Ultium platform that first appeared under GMC's Hummer EV Pickup, the Equinox EV is a compact EV with a substantial feel, and mid-size levels of useful space inside, equally suited for daily chores and weekend adventures.

The cabin environment is different enough from the ICE Equinox to let you know, you're in something all-new and special, but not so unexpected that it comes with any type of steep learning curve.

The big 17.7 inch infotainment screen is easy to navigate, and there's a nice row of traditional climate controls just below which keeps you from having to menu dive when you hop in and need to crank up the heat.

And the driving experience is enriching, with smooth and quiet power delivery that you can only get with electric motors.

You can even add GM's Super Cruise, which we think is still the best system out there for hands-free highway driving.

Front-wheel-drive versions work with 213 horsepower; while adding a rear motor for all-wheel-drive bumps that up to 288 horsepower.

The Equinox EV can handle up to 150 kilowatt for DC Fast charging, delivering 77 miles for every 10 minutes plugged in.

A sea change is happening in the auto industry as more typical consumers are embracing the EV lifestyle.

Not because they're forced to, but because sensibly priced, and highly practical battery-electrics like the Chevrolet Equinox EV, are making them want to.

It checked all of our boxes and then some, and that's why the Chevrolet Equinox EV is our 2025 MotorWeek Drivers' Choice Best of the Year!

Well, that's 2025 MotorWeek Drivers' Choice Awards, I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, for more MotorWeek , including daily news updates, podcasts, and even complete episodes, cruise on over to PBS.ORG/MOTORWEEK.

And I hope you'll join us next time when we race into season 44's first Roebling Road track test, the Lamborghini Revuelto, then plug into the Chevrolet Equinox EV.

Until then, I'm John Davis.

We'll see you right here on MotorWeek !

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Learn more at AutoValue.Com and BumperToBumper.Com.

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We test tires, then share our results.

We stock over one million tires.

We offer multiple installation options.

We do this because we believe tires matter.

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