At the 16th Annual WheelsTV Pre-Owned Vehicle of the Year Awards Judging, Toyota took top honors in four of the nine categories and went on to take the Platinum Wheel when the 2019-2022 Toyota RAV4 was unanimously voted the 2025 WheelsTV POV of the Year. When notified of this unprecedented achievement, Toyota USA announced, "We are truly grateful and proud to be recognized so prominently at the 2025 WheelsTV Pre-Owned Vehicle of the Year Awards. Earning top honors in multiple categories, highlighted by the unanimous selection of the 2019-2022 RAV4 as the Platinum Wheel winner, reflects Toyota's ongoing focus on building vehicles that stand the test of time. We have been very fortunate that for the past 11 years in a row, the Toyota RAV4 has proudly held the title of the number one selling vehicle in New England. This remarkable achievement reflects the trust and loyalty of our customers, who continue to choose the RAV4 for its versatility, performance, and value."
GROTON, Mass., Nov. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- At the 16th Annual WheelsTV Pre-Owned Vehicle of the Year Awards Judging, Toyota took top honors in four of the nine categories and went on to take the Platinum Wheel when the 2019-2022 Toyota RAV4 was unanimously voted the 2025 WheelsTV POV of the Year.
When notified of this unprecedented achievement, Cam Taborda, Toyota Certified Used Vehicle Manager stated, "We are truly grateful and proud to be recognized so prominently at the 2025 WheelsTV Pre-Owned Vehicle of the Year Awards. Earning top honors in multiple categories, highlighted by the unanimous selection of the 2019-2022 RAV4 as the Platinum Wheel winner, reflects Toyota's ongoing focus on building vehicles that stand the test of time. We have been very fortunate that for the past 11 years in a row, the Toyota RAV4 has proudly held the title of the number one selling vehicle in New England. This remarkable achievement reflects the trust and loyalty of our customers, who continue to choose the RAV4 for its versatility, performance, and value."
For the WheelsTV POV of the Year judging, automotive professionals from the New England Motor Press Association and across the U.S. gathered via Zoom; sharing their automotive wisdom, horse(power) trading and finally arriving at their top choices of the pre-owned vehicles that will provide American motorists with the most reliable, enjoyable and efficient transportation through years of service and many thousands of miles.
Because pre-owned vehicles now average over twelve years of life-expectancy, the 16th annual judging rules now require that the nine categories of nominated vehicles must have been in service for at least THREE model years, rather than the previous two and must demonstrate outstanding long-term reliability and exceptional consumer satisfaction.
Automotive media professionals based in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, San Antonio and Southern California are the 2025 judges, providing a national perspective.
This year's distinguished judging panel included:
- John Paul, AAA's "Car Doctor" radio host and auto writer for The Boston Globe, The Providence Journal, and NY Newsday
- John Dinkel, former editor of Road and Track and author of books on Mazda and Toyota
- Rick DeMeis, host of Rick's Tech Talk
- Natalie Harrington, Senior Staff Writer at CarGurus and Trustee of the Larz Anderson Auto Museum
- Jerald Barisano, CEO, Texas World Of Wheels Transportation Theme Park Corporation
- Peter Ciani, Senior Writer at WheelsTV
- Ant Romano, Client Services and Technology Lead at WheelsTV
- Jim Barisano, President of WheelsTV and creator of the prime-time series Wild About Wheels for the Discovery Channel and PBS Series WHEELS
- Chris King, EVP of WheelsTV moderated the online judging.
Mister Taborda went on to state, "This recognition from industry experts reinforces our commitment to delivering exceptional reliability, value, and driving satisfaction to our customers nationwide. Thank you to WheelsTV and the judging panel for this meaningful honor."
Stated John Paul: "The WheelsTV POV of the Year award is an important tool for used car shoppers. This is especially the case where new cars are averaging over $50,000. The POVY award signifies quality, reliability, drivability and value. This should help reassure shoppers that the car has been recognized by leading experts with decades of experience and meets their high standards."
John Dinkel observed that "The RAV4 represents what most American consumers actually need and want in a vehicle, delivered with proven reliability and strong value retention. It's the vehicle that will reliably serve the most people, in the most situations, for the longest time."
Jerald Barisano shared his family's experiences behind the wheel of the RAV4: "Having driven the Toyota RAV4 as our family car for more than two years while living in China, I can honestly attest that the RAV4 is a well-deserved winner of the WheelsTV POV of the Year for 2025. It's reliable, comfortable and a pleasure to drive."
As one of the best-selling SUVs in the United States and around the globe, the Toyota RAV4 has long set the benchmark for the small SUV segment. The fifth generation, introduced for the 2019 model year, continued that tradition by offering buyers a smart blend of efficiency, capability, and value, along with Toyota's well-established reputation for reliability. For these reasons and more, WheelsTV and the New England Motor Press Association are pleased to name the 2019-2022 Toyota RAV4 2025 WheelsTV POV of the Year.
Here are the nine POVY Category Winners, indicated by vehicle generation and the WheelsTV Classic Ride recipient for 2025:
Hybrid: Toyota Prius 2019-2022 Gas or diesel/electric that has earned exceptional MPG / MPGe ratings and/or is designated a low emissions vehicle.
EV: Chevy Bolt EV 2017-2022 Pure battery powered electric or hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle (HFCV) that has achieved exceptional mileage range between charges and has high reliability and safety ratings.
SUV: Jeep Grand Cherokee 2021-2022 Heavy-duty off-road or truck-based utility vehicle with go-anywhere credentials and an option for low-range gearing.
Crossover: 2022 Toyota RAV4 2019-2022 Compact, medium or large family utility vehicle with light off-road capabilities and/or more car-like handling.
Sporty Car: Chevrolet Corvette C8 2020-2022 Performance & handling-oriented two-seaters, coupes, or convertibles.
Small Car: Toyota Corolla 2020-2022 Compact, subcompact & micro cars, any power source.
Family Car: Toyota Sienna 2021-2022 A sedan, wagon or minivan typically purchased as an everyday family vehicle.
Light Truck: Ford F150 2021-2022 Mid & full-size pickup trucks weighing less than 8500 pounds.
Luxury Vehicle: Genesis G70 2019-2022 Any premium luxury automobile.
2025 WheelsTV Classic Ride: 1995 to 2000 Toyota Tacoma Classic Ride.
The WheelsTV Classic Ride debuted in 2023. It is judged and awarded separately. The WheelsTV Class Ride covers classic cars that are at least 25 years old, have proven long-term reliability, are easy to maintain and fix, can be driven safely on weekends and have styling that is still considered outstanding.
Stated John Dinkel about the WheelsTV Classic Ride winner, "The world has changed. As finding fun, paved roads for your classic ride becomes more and more difficult, a vehicle such as the Tacoma, that provides fun-to-drive attributes in both on and off-road conditions, becomes a compelling alternative. While a classic Triumph Spitfire is a fun car for the paved twisties, the Tacoma's vaunted reliability, off- and on-road, is much more likely to get you there . . . and back!"
About WheelsTV
WheelsTV (http://www.WheelsTV.net) is the auto industry's standard of excellence in on-the-road video test drives, with the world's largest library of over 7,500 independently produced video research tools covering 95% of the North American new and pre-owned light vehicle market. WheelsTV's video test drives and vertical shorts provide deeper engagement, greater excitement, and quicker answers to millions of car shoppers across North America.
The WheelsTV production team's lineage extends to popular prime-time automotive television series seen on the Discovery Network, PBS, Speedvision, the Family Channel, Roku, Tubi and in 104 countries worldwide. Programming includes prime-time series Wild About Wheels, Motor Trend Television, the documentary series WHEELS, and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 50th Anniversary Special.
About NEMPA
The New England Motor Press Association was founded in 1987 to coordinate professional media coverage of the auto industry in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, whose 14.5 million citizens have unique demographics and automotive preferences. Membership in NEMPA is by invitation and open to carmakers and their public-relations and communications staffs, suppliers to the automotive industry, and trade and consumer auto show producers as well as to automotive journalists, television producers and photographers. NEMPA's media members appear on network and cable TV, on the Internet and radio, and in regional and national newspapers and magazines. For more information, please visit https://nempa.org/
Media Contact
Jim Barisano, WheelsTV, 1 9788357744, [email protected], https://www.wheelstv.net/
SOURCE WheelsTV
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