The 50 jurors of the 2012 North American Car and Truck of the Year awards have spoken: the 2012 Hyundai Elantra and 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque have been voted this year's best car and truck.

Once again our own editorial director Marty Padgett helped preside among 50 fellow U.S. and Canadian automotive journalists working for online, print, video, and radio outlets and publications.

To be eligible, a vehicle must be "all new" or "substantially changed" from the previous model.

The Hyundai is an interesting choice given the tough competition it was up against like the 2012 Ford Focus in the final round of voting. However, the win today is a true sign that Hyundai has what it takes to compete with more established brands, and at two very different ends of the new car spectrum. We say this because it wasn’t that long ago that Hyundai took out the same award with its Genesis luxury sedan.

The Range Rover Evoque from Land Rover is an obvious choice given the limited field of new trucks this year. We even picked it as a nominee in our recent 'Best Car To Buy' competition due to its competitive pricing, abundant features, and off-road capability, so it's easy to see why the Evoque has been picked here. 

Last year the Chevrolet Volt took out the car award while the Ford Explorer was picked as the top truck.

This year the list was limited to a total of 24 vehicles, including 17 cars and seven light trucks. You can see the original field of nominees by hitting the next page button.

2012 Hyundai Elantra

2012 Hyundai Elantra

The nominees for the 2012 North American Car And Truck Of The Year awards are as follows:

North American Car Of The Year shortlist


Audi A6
Audi A7
Buick Verano
Chevrolet Sonic
Chrysler 300/SRT-8
Fiat 500
Ford Focus
Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Elantra
Hyundai Veloster
Kia Rio/Rio 5
Scion iQ
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Camry
Toyota Prius V
VW Beetle
VW Passat

North American Truck Of The Year shortlist
BMW X3
Honda CR-V
Land Rover Range Rover Evoque
Mercedes-Benz M-Class
Mini Countryman
Nissan Quest
Saab 9-4X