2027 MotorTrend Car of the Year Unveils Electrifying Contenders

MotorTrend's prestigious Car of the Year (COTY) award season has commenced for 2027, an annual tradition since 1949. To be eligible, vehicles must be all-new or significantly revised, and are evaluated against six standard criteria: value, safety, efficiency, performance of intended function, advancement in design, and engineering excellence. The testing process involves gathering all competing vehicles at a top-tier automaker proving ground for back-to-back drives on various courses and surfaces, including evaluation of infotainment and technology. A selection of finalists is then driven on a 21-mile real-world loop to assess real-world conditions. Finally, judges debate and vote to determine the winner of the Golden Calipers trophy. This year's competition featured a remarkably diverse field of 16 nameplates and 22 variants from 12 automakers, showcasing a strong and intriguing selection of cars.

Among the contenders, the eighth-generation Lexus ES marked a significant departure, discontinuing its gas-only powertrain to offer a hybrid and its first pure electric models in two variants: the ES350e and ES500e. With the LS no longer available, the ES and IS are the sole Lexus sedans in the U.S. The new ES boasts a radically new, provocative styling and is dimensionally larger, being wider, taller, and 6.5 inches longer with an extended wheelbase. The front-motor ES350e EV features a 74.7-kWh battery, generating 221 horsepower and 198 lb-ft of torque, with an EPA range of 292 miles, though MotorTrend's Road-Trip Range test yielded 233 miles. It includes a built-in NACS port for Tesla Supercharger access and a CCS adapter, but charging speed is capped at 150 kW, and while it offers four levels of regenerative braking, none is one-pedal, and settings reset upon car shutdown. The dual-motor ES500e boosts performance to 338 hp and 323 lb-ft, making it the quickest, with an EPA range of 276 miles on 19-inch wheels. True to Lexus tradition, the ES generally offers a quiet, serene cabin and a cushy ride with linear acceleration, prioritizing comfort over performance. However, EV power could be more instant, and the soft suspension led to excessive heaving, wallowing, and body roll on rough roads or when pushed. The ES350h hybrid, available in front- or all-wheel drive, achieved an impressive range of up to 667 miles but felt clunkier in operation and lacked the same ride quality and powertrain smoothness due to its inline-four engine and continuously variable transmission. While the Lexus lane keep system performed excellently, the self-parking feature was notably dysfunctional, attempting to park in inappropriate spaces or even over obstacles. The ES350e's interior was a highlight, featuring stunning brown leather, light bamboo trim, and a minimalist design with integrated screens and physical buttons. It offered a competitive user interface, a convenient pulldown center console with a wireless phone charger and HVAC controls, and comfortable seats. The Executive package added reclining rear seats and an ottoman, enhancing the spacious and well-appointed rear cabin, though the leg rest functionality was limited for taller individuals. Despite minor drawbacks, the new Lexus ES represents a substantial improvement, presenting itself as a well-executed, unpretentious modern luxury sedan with enhanced technology and value, prompting the question of whether it could secure the Car of the Year award.

The Chevrolet Bolt's journey has been tumultuous, initially discontinued after 2023, then revived for a single model year due to demand for affordable EVs, only to be phased out again as GM prioritizes more profitable vehicles. The 2027 Bolt, an updated version of the larger Bolt EUV, did not transition to GM's Ultium platform but features a new 65-kWh lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery to reduce costs, making it the cheapest EV in the U.S. at under $29,000. Judges had mixed reactions; while some praised it as a decent daily driver with mild driving dynamics upgrades and a surprisingly comfortable ride over rough roads, its limitations emerged under harder driving. Its single front-mounted motor delivers 210 horsepower (up from before) but torque is down at 169 lb-ft, making it less quick. It exhibited considerable understeer and body roll, became unsettled over large bumps, had numb steering, mushy brakes, and a top speed capped at 93 mph. Positive features included one-pedal driving and an integrated NACS charging port, though charging speeds were merely average. The EPA-rated range of 262 miles was reduced to 217 miles in MotorTrend's Road-Trip Range test. GM's Super Cruise, with automated lane changes and freeway-to-freeway navigation, is available on higher trims but as a costly $3,255 option, significantly detracting from the Bolt's value proposition; its lane keep system also tended to 'ping-pong' within the lane. The interior of the test car featured a black theme with perforated leatherette seats and an abundance of hard plastic, described by one editor as feeling like a 'Happy Meal toy,' despite some nice touches like white dash trim echoing the original Bolt. It offered numerous storage solutions, but ergonomics suffered from the center armrest's placement and a Google-based infotainment system lacking Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Drive modes were screen-controlled, and the car's automatic on/off function meant manually turning it off required tapping a tiny touchscreen icon. While front headroom was decent, rear passengers found it cramped, receiving only two USB ports without air vents or other amenities. Ultimately, the Bolt was deemed a decent and affordable EV, but lacked personality, and when optioned up, its price neared that of a Tesla Model 3, which offers superior performance and functionality.

The Tesla Model 3, often a runner-up in previous COTY competitions, aimed for a win in 2026 with an affordable base model and a high-performance variant. The 2024 model showed significant improvements over its predecessor in build, ride, and material quality, but was held back by a lack of physical controls and immature software. The 2026 Model 3 has evolved further, particularly in its software, with Full-Self Driving (Supervised) now considered 'best on the market' for hands-free driving and improved self-parking. The Auto Shift (Beta) feature also became more reliable. While FSD adds considerable value, its $99 monthly subscription (or $1,188 annually) is not exclusive to the Model 3 and can be a significant cost for buyers on a budget. Setting FSD aside, the base Standard model offers fantastic value, despite the removal of some convenience features. The absence of cooled front seats was noted during hot weather testing, and the relocation of physical seat controls to the touchscreen or steering wheel rollers was widely disliked, though the system remembers presets. The rear-wheel-drive Standard model, by losing the front motor, became palpably lighter and offered the most steering feedback ever experienced in a Tesla. For those seeking performance, the Performance model excelled, out-accelerating supercars and featuring Track mode and effective two-mode active dampers that should be standard on the mid-tier Premium model. Despite these advancements, some familiar issues persisted: a stark interior, noisy tires on poor pavement, and a regressive ergonomic update to the user interface, which presented apps as an alphabetical grid of small, similar-looking icons. The key question for judges was whether a more rounded model lineup and updated software were enough for the Model 3 to finally clinch the COTY award.

Mercedes-Benz introduced the new CLA-Class as a technological moonshot, representing the company's intensive investment in electric vehicle development after initial EV market challenges. The CLA350 4Matic, specifically, showcased incredible real-world range and charging capabilities during the COTY competition. In MotorTrend's Road-Trip Range test, it achieved 374 miles, an astonishing 18 percent higher than its official EPA rating of 312 miles—the largest underestimation ever observed. Furthermore, its charging performance was near record-breaking, adding 198 miles in 15 minutes and 322 miles in 30 minutes, reaching 80 percent charge in just 25 minutes. Beyond range and charging, the CLA350 handled well despite low rolling resistance tires, accelerated briskly and smoothly, and maintained a luxury-car quiet cabin. It is also packed with advanced technology, including a truly useful agentic AI virtual assistant, an effective self-parking system, and excellent hands-on semi-autonomous driving tech that is hardware-protected for future eyes-off-the-road autonomy and only a software update away from going hands-free. However, these technical achievements come with a price: the test CLA350 cost $66,280, a significant sum for a car whose rear seats were criticized for being cramped, lacking features, and exhibiting lower material quality compared to the front. Additionally, too-soft dampers caused excessive bounding over larger bumps. The interior's 'Superscreen' was noted as a wall of computer monitors rather than traditional craftsmanship. The new CLA-Class thus presented a conundrum: its unimpeachable technical prowess in EV efficiency and charging was balanced against compromises in interior space, rear passenger amenities, ride quality, and a premium price point, leading reviewers to question if its benefits justified its cost over similarly priced EVs. The potential for this powertrain technology in an SUV like the GLB-Class was noted as a future game-changer.