The finalists for the NATOY were Honda Pilot, Nissan Titan XD, and the Volvo XC90.
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As such, comfort will be a big focus and Honda says the new truck will offer the most cabin space in its segment along with a split-folding rear seat and under seat storage that give it “the most versatile packaging in the segment”.
Last year’s winners were the Volkswagen Golf and Ford F-150 pickup.
Volvo’s current multi-award-winning flagship SUV, the XC90 is bristling with incredible, world-first safety features and has an optional semi-autonomous Pilot Assist system. A vehicle must be redesigned or substantially changed in order to be eligible for the award. Honda now operates 16 major manufacturing facilities in North America, producing a wide range of Honda automobiles, all-terrain vehicles, power equipment products, engines and transmissions.
This year, the finalists in the sedan category were the Honda Civic, the Chevrolet Malibu and the Mazda MX-5.
Honda unveiled its 2017 Ridgeline pickup truck in Detroit on Monday, revealing a radically re-designed second-generation version of a truck that should have sold better than it did.
Honda swept the awards with the Civic and Ridgeline in 2006, while Land Rover and Hyundai won in 2012.
Now in its 23rd year, the awards recognize the most outstanding new vehicles of the year as judged by an independent jury of 53 automotive journalists from the US and Canada.
The launch of the S90 highlights the ambition of the Swedish vehicle maker, following an $11bn investment and the recent breaking of ground in Charleston, South Carolina, where Volvo Cars will build its first North American production facility, employing around 2,000 workers.
This was the third time since the awards began in 1993 that domestic automakers were shut out of the awards. So how will the 2017 S90 and the upcoming long-wheelbase model we’ve previously reported on stand out?
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The 2016 Volvo XC90 starts at $43,900. Volvo City Safety, which includes Pedestrian Detection with Automatic Emergency Braking, automatically applies the brakes should a collision be imminent, is also standard. This year was the 2nd time that Volvo has won the award for the XC90.
