Welcome to the 2025 DoubleClutch.ca Car of the Year: where the rules are made up, and the points don’t matter.
In the past we’ve always had contenders broken up into categories that seem pretty obvious at face value, like mainstream and premium cars and SUVs, performance cars above and below fifty grand, green cars, trucks, and so on. There’s always a question of how to best tweak categories and their definitions so as to come up with an air-tight set of rules to uniformly serve everyone and everything. In an industry that no longer makes sense with everything bending genre rules, that practice doesn’t make sense either.
One of our standouts in the former “Premium Crossover/SUV” category was BMW’s X3, and the base model tester that I liked so much is significantly cheaper than almost all of the “Mainstream Crossover/SUV” nominees like the Toyota 4Runner, Land Cruiser, and the Chevy Tahoe. It also created a conundrum when half of our favourite “Crossover/SUVs” were technically more truck than our favourite truck, the Ford Maverick.
Nick submitted the frugal and friendly Hyundai Elantra Hybrid for his nominee in the “Green Car” category, and Ben submitted a five-thousand pound, fire-breathing BMW M5 in the same category, because it’s technically more “Green” than the Hyundai, being that it actually qualifies for Green Vehicle license plates. Realizing that “green” is completely meaningless anymore, I elected to abolish the category, and decided to flip the table and throw everything out shortly thereafter, because none of it made sense anyway.
What follows is a list of vehicles that stood out to us this year, with a rough observance of differing segments. There are still some rules: we must have published a review of it this year, and it does not need to be from the current (2025) model year, as every manufacturer handles that differently. Cars that won last year cannot win again, so the excellent Honda Civic and phenomenal Chevy Corvette E-Ray are eliminated by default.
Most importantly, in the past we’ve tried to favour vehicles that are new or updated for the current year, and for the sake of giving this some structure, I’ve made the decision to strictly adhere to that (otherwise the charmingly antiquated Lexus IS 500 would have cleaned house, because it’s my favourite – headline pic related).
Without further ado, these were our favourite vehicles of 2025:
Volkswagen Tiguan
Compact crossovers are the most popular type of vehicle, and we feel the newly redesigned 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan is the best one. It looks great, has tons of space, and a cabin that punches above its price point and delivers all the tech toys people want to see in a commuter. It also drives well, is thrifty on fuel, and in the case of the Turbo model, delivers performance and a driving experience that finally puts Mazda’s perennially excellent CX-5 and CX-50 Turbo on notice.
BMW’s new X3 very nearly stole this spot; it does a lot of things better and offers more in a lot of ways. The base model is very well priced, but it’s still more than the nicest Tiguan you can buy. The lines between budget and bougie get mighty blurry at that point.
Honourable mentions: BMW X3 (so, so close), Nissan Murano, Mazda CX-50, Honda CR-V
Volkswagen Jetta
Compact cars used to be the most popular type of vehicle, and most of us here still hold that this is the optimal shape of normal vehicle for normal people. Volkswagen’s Jetta has always been at or near the top of the pile, and their carefully chosen tweaks for the updated 2025 Jetta keep it there. It’s better looking, looks and feels more modern inside without being too modern for its good, and carries forward the fundamentals that make the Jetta so good.
It drives so well that it undermines crossovers, it’s so practical that it questions the need for crossovers in the first place, and it’s so well priced and well equipped that it’s hard to argue with. Plus, they still make the GLI, which still has a proper stick-shift, and it still rocks, too.
Honourable mentions: Toyota Crown, Hyundai Elantra, Honda Civic, Nissan Leaf, Mazda 3
Volkswagen GTI/Golf R
Why yes, this has been a good year for VW.
This is one of those cases where these would have been awkwardly split up by our former price bracketing (and may have even more awkwardly taken both categories), and now I can just lump them together, because they’re both fabulous. The updated “Mk 8.5” GTI and Golf R solve the problems that made these cars so contentious a few years ago, with simplified tech that works really well. VW’s former capacitive touch based controls and user interface were the only major blemish on an otherwise excellent vehicle, and that’s been solved.
They also have bigger screens because everyone obviously needs that, cool new wheel designs, and most importantly, the Golf R finally has the Euro-spec goodies we’ve wanted for so long, like lightweight sport seats, and a titanium Akrapovic exhaust. This and more helps the Golf R stand out and feel more special, cementing its place as the ultimate, practical, high performance year-round daily driver. The GTI remains an unimpeachable performance peach, too.
The manual gearbox may be gone, but we kind of all agree we won’t miss it that much; the lovely GLI still exists to scratch that itch if you disagree.
Honourable mentions: Mazda Miata, Hyundai Elantra N, Toyota GR 86, Subaru BRZ
Honda Passport
We like Hondas around here, and we love what Honda has done to differentiate the new 2025 Honda Passport from the rest of its lineup. Honda have always been masters of making effective “trucks” out of cars, and the Passport is far and away their truckiest truck ever, despite still not being a truck at all. It masterfully blends the rugged form factor and feel of a truck, while maintaining the incredible use of space and excellent road capabilities of Honda’s cars. In an era where everyone wants something that looks and feels tough without at all actually being tough on its pilot, the Passport is a clairvoyant slam-dunk.
Honourable mentions: Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Land Cruiser, Ford Explorer, Kia EV9
Nissan Armada
This is one of the key vehicles that began destabilizing our established categories that differentiated mainstream and premium brands. The new Nissan Armada, especially in its higher trim levels, is really, really, nice, to a point that it calls into question the purpose of its “premium” platform-mate in the Infiniti QX80 – which, to be clear, we’re also fond of.
The new Armada looks great, has a mighty new powertrain, and a gorgeous cabin with a robust feature set. We all agreed early on that it was probably an easy shoe-in as the best big SUV you can buy, being excellent at everything with a competitive price point to match. It solves the problems that made the old Armada feel old without losing the tank-like feeling that made it lovable. This is a home-run for Nissan.
Honourable mention: Chevy Tahoe, Jeep Wagoneer
Ford Maverick
Ford’s faux-truck has been a favourite of ours every year, and we’ve deliberately kept it off the top of the podium “because a fake, front-drive, unibody truck can’t keep winning, it’ll diminish our credibility.” Well, this year Ford updated the Maverick, it’s better than ever, and it was already a shoe-in for our Truck of the Year before we started thinking about what the category actually meant. This is the best truck-shaped vehicle you can buy in 2025.
The 2025 Ford Maverick is more handsome, more capable, better equipped, and most importantly, finally offers the brilliant hybrid powertrain with the truck prerequisite all-wheel-drive and tow package, so you can have the hybrid’s slick operation and untouchable frugality without compromise. The off-road Tremor is toughened up for more off-road capability, too, but the real highlight is the new Lobo, which is single-handedly reviving the old street truck movement of old. It’s just another curveball in this ridiculous year that Ford of all companies would revive the Chevy S10 SS.
Land Rover Defender
It’s a recurring trend that the vehicles we tend to nominate for annual awards are pretty terrific at everything, and I don’t think there’s anything on the market that’s more adept at more things than the Land Rover Defender.
We’ve liked every Defender we’ve ever reviewed, in every body style, with every powertrain, but the new top-tier Defender OCTA is, as the kids say, something else, man. It is mind-bendingly quick, even more bewilderingly composed with its “6D Dynamics” chassis, and takes the “go anywhere” expression about as literally as is possible without giving up a single iota of refinement. That it can ford three feet of water, fly over a dune, outrun a Ferrari, and make a Mercedes feel stiff all at once is a triumph.
Honourable mention: Infiniti QX80, Mercedes-Benz G 580 EQ, Lexus LX700h
BMW 2-Series
BMW’s 2-Series is not new, but is newly updated, and we’re newly in love with it. We’ve come around to its styling, we like that it’s a reasonably usable daily driver that’s able to make memories out of mundanity. Imran drove the M240i xDrive which is probably one of the best daily drivers you can buy, I had a turn with the outrageous and wacky M2 CS that’s about as silly as a serious car can be, and we all had a turn with a manual M2 that falls somewhere in between. Doesn’t matter which 2 you pick, you can’t go wrong.
I cannot stress enough how good the M2 CS is. All of BMW’s most furious CS cars are incredible, and the M2 CS is the best embodiment of that, offering a focussed, edgy, classic rear-drive experience, with enough theatre and thrill to stand up to the absolute best supercars this business has to offer.
Honourable mentions: Nissan Z Nismo, Lexus IS 500, Toyota Supra, BMW Z4, BMW M3, BMW M4
Dodge Charger
If there were a “most improved” category, it’s possible there has never been a car more deserving than the new Charger. In March this year, I drove a Charger EV from Kingston to Toronto. It wasn’t a press vehicle, but indeed a real person’s vehicle, it only had delivery miles on it, and it was the most disappointing piece of junk I had ever driven (thus far). Not only did its powertrain feel broken, large parts of its onboard tech were actually broken. I declined to create any content, as dunking on the Charger felt like taking an already very dead horse and pulverizing it into a fine mist.
Imran had another Charger EV over the summer, and he noted the same positives I did: it looks good, it handles well, and the cabin is quite nice. He also noted that his tester was not broken, and he even went as far as to call it “a good car,” which would have been inconceivable just months before. As I hoped, they fixed a lot.
Then just a few weeks ago, Nick and I had a turn with a Charger Sixpack, powered by Stellantis’ new High-Output Hurricane engine, and we both agreed it’s kind of brilliant. I’d even go as far as to say that if it were going to be my only car, I’d have one over a Mustang – that’s high praise around here. It takes all the silliness we liked so much about Ram RHO and puts in a very badass-looking package that drives exceedingly well, and is actually very livable.
Way to turn it around.
Ram 1500
I didn’t love the show Mad Men when I first watched it, but it stuck in my mind, and I thought about it a lot. I kinda had the same experience with the Ram 1500 Rebel with the new Hurricane engine that was supposed to replace the Hemi V8, in that I wasn’t hooked, but I knew it was pretty good. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t use press vehicles to commute often, but I found myself going home in the Ram every day. It’s such a clear cut above its competitors in terms of drivability.
Then I gave it another chance in the form of the Ram RHO and realized it was, in fact, a work of genius. And I drove it home every day, too. Usually while giggling to myself.
Honourable mentions: Toyota Tundra (very close), GMC Sierra EV
Volvo EX90
The long-awaited Volvo EX90 takes everything we all love about Volvos, and brings that whole recipe forward into a new era. It’s gorgeous, beautifully appointed, adorned with excellent technology and an even better sound system, and the fact that it’s a good EV with excellent performance, range, and charging capability is icing on the cake. You don’t have to like electric vehicles to like this, and appreciate that it’s an excellent luxury crossover, regardless of what powering it.
Honourable mentions: Polestar 3, the literal entire rest of the Volvo lineup, which have all been updated this year and are uniformly terrific.
Our favourite vehicle: 2025 Ford Maverick
Wait, wait, hear me out. This caught me off-guard, too.
The updated 2025 Ford Maverick is kind of brilliant at everything, and perhaps most importantly, is brilliant at everything on a very reasonable budget. Almost everyone on our staff had a turn with a Maverick of some variety, and we all really liked every single one, from the fleet-special body-in-white XL, to the capable Tremor, to the brilliant new all-wheel-drive Lariat hybrid, to the badass little Lobo which single-handedly is trying to revive a beloved segment on its own.
The Lobo is more performance vehicle than most people will ever need (and if I’m reading between the lines from Ford correctly, it’s easily expandable), the Tremor is more off-road than most people will never need, and the hybrid is more efficient than you could ever ask, being very nearly as frugal as a Toyota Prius. You can have your Mav any which way you please, but they’re all fantastic and budget-friendly, which put the 2025 Ford Maverick over the top for our overall favourite this year.
Honourable mentions: BMW M2 CS, Lexus IS 500
