2022 MotorTrend Performance Vehicle of the Year: The Contenders
Meet the performance vehicles that aimed to be finalists for the Golden Calipers trophy.
MotorTrend's Of the Year award season is nearly closed out for 2022 — and we've saved the most exciting for last: Our inaugural Performance Vehicle of the Year. Following up our 2022 Car of the Year, SUV of the Year, and Truck of the Year awards, PVOTY is a new one, a celebration of performance above all else. As with the other OTY awards, eligibility demands only that a vehicle be new or significantly updated for 2022, though no price cap applies. Note we use the term "vehicle" and not "car" — this is because any performance-oriented vehicle can compete. Cars, SUVs, hatchbacks, sedans, coupes, trucks, you name it—anything designed to elevate a driver's experience on a good road or while tearing up a racetrack is eligible.
Just like with our other Of the Year awards, PVOTY contenders are judged against six criteria: Safety, value, advancement in design, engineering excellence, efficiency, and performance of intended function. Starting with 22 vehicles, we narrowed down the field to a list of finalists and, finally, a single winner. To kick things off here, we present the 2022 Performance Vehicle of the Year contenders over the course of the week, those models that didn't make the finalist cut.
(photo credit: MotorTrend)
