(WWJ)-- 2025 was a year of big change in the auto industry, from production plans to fuel economy rules to tariffs. But there was one constant. SUV’s rule the road in the US.
And the best new vehicle I drove in 2025 was an SUV that aims directly at the family market–the Hyundai Palisade. Not far behind was the electric Cadillac Optiq. And there are a bevy of other utilities that are also quite impressive.
By my own guess, I probably drove about 70-80 different new vehicles in 2025. That, of course, includes some that I’d driven before. For the purposes of this evaluation, let’s look at the ones that I drove for the first time in 2025, or the first time after they had been significantly updated.
I carefully choose words like "disappointing" and "frustrating." That's because just about every vehicle has something going for it. There are very few bad vehicles these days. But there are some that you'd expect to be better.
Let’s break it down by how the vehicles impressed me, for good or for bad.
Vehicle That Impressed Me The Most: Hyundai Palisade. It’s a three row SUV that just does everything right. It looks good, has a great interior, lots of technology and feels like something you can really live in. You have room for family and friends and a lot of stuff.
Vehicle That Frustrated Me The Most: Lucid Gravity. You don’t have to reinvent other functions to show that you’re a cutting edge electric vehicle. The Gravity looks nice and has a great powertrain, but requires far too much of a learning curve. Owners have also reported a lot of bugs.
Sleeper: Nissan Sentra. I have to admit, I didn’t care too much for it when I had a quick first drive at the vehicle evaluation event for North American Car Truck and Utility of the Year. But, Nissan let me try out a couple of different trims and spend a full afternoon in one, and I was convinced. Well laid out small car. Lots of amenities. Lots of choice.
Biggest Disappointment: Jeep Wagoneer S. I liked it when I drove it. But owners have had a lot of complaints. Timing is bad as Jeep puts out its first EV just as EV’s are seeing slower growth. The company doesn’t seem to be rallying behind this vehicle, because I haven’t seen a lot of promotion.
Biggest Regret: Volkswagen ID Buzz. I actually drove it in late 2024, and it turned heads everywhere I went. People loved it. They just didn’t buy it. It was named 2025 North American Utility of the Year. Now, it’s on hiatus for 2026.
Best EV: Cadillac Optiq. Everything Lucid did wrong with the Gravity, Cadillac did right with the Optiq. It’s a great small to mid size SUV, period. Oh, yea, it’s also electric. Great sound system. Great styling. The interior is awesome. This is how you make an electric vehicle.
Most Intriguing: Dodge Charger. I liked the Daytona, electric version. It came out first. Purists were offended. Then the “Six Pack” gasoline version hit. It’s a great muscle car that handles much better than the old one. The six cylinder version is as good as most V-8s. Nobody’s confirming it, but I’m thinking it could be a candidate for a V8 Hemi.
Comeback Vehicle of the Year: Ram 1500 with Hemi. On the subject of Hemi’s, it’s back and customers can’t get enough of these vehicles. Oh, and the Ram 1500 is a very nice pickup to begin with.
And now a few honorable mentions, for good and for bad.
Disappointments: Polestar 4–taking away the rear window is a deal breaker, even if it gives you more room in the hatch, and you have cameras galore. Acura ADX–Just doesn’t feel premium. Ineos Grenadier–A niche vehicle that will have trouble surviving tariffs.
Made an impression: Toyota RAV 4–Improving on Toyota’s best selling vehicle, Toyota 4Runner–A long awaited update will impress, VW Tiguan–The most American feeling VW I’ve driven. Maverick Lobo–A great variation on a really impressive small truck. Cadillac Vistiq and Cadillac Escalade IQ–Adding to a lineup of EVs that show the world that Cadillac is cool again.
NOTE: Automotive journalists receive vehicles from car makers to evaluate. We generally get to drive them for a week. There are no promises made. We’re allowed to express our own personal views.
Carmakers occasionally take automotive journalists on trips to learn more about individual vehicles. This often includes opportunities that we don’t generally have, like off road courses, race tracks and mountain or desert roadways that are quite different than we experience in Michigan. This also comes with access to engineers and executives as well as briefings on the vehicles. Again, no coverage promises are made.