Detroit 2012: Elantra And Evoque Win Car And Truck Of The Year

The winners of the 2012 North American Car And Truck Of The Year Awards have been announced, with the Hyundai Elantra taking home car honors, and the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque winning out amongst the truck competition.

Hyundai’s victory was certainly the more surprising of the two this morning, as the Elantra was facing especially difficult competition form both the new Ford Focus, and the highly regarded Volkswagen Passat. The 2012 accolade is the second-ever for Hyundai (and the second-ever for a Korean automaker, too), following a 2009 win with the Genesis sedan.

Heaped upon with praise from the moment the first reviews started rolling out, the Evoque’s success with the NACATOTY jurors was less surprising. The svelte Range Rover got by a completely redesigned Honda CR-V, and a rather impressive BMW X3 to take home top honors. The Evoque’s award is the first-ever for Land Rover, and only the third ever Truck Of The Year Award for a European automaker.

Last year’s Car and Truck Of The Year winners were the Chevrolet Volt, and the Ford Explorer.