A Dodge muscle car won the top award at the 2019 Texas Auto Roundup. After 44 journalist members of the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) evaluated 29 vehicles April 14-16, the 2019 Dodge Challenger was crowned the overall Car of Texas. Our Executive Producer, Amy Plemons, was on hand to experience driving all the vehicles brought by automakers.
Dodge Challenger Receives Top Honors"Driving enthusiasts in Texas love horsepower, and the Challenger's classic muscular lines and monumental power won over our voters," said Michael Marrs, president of TAWA. "The most powerful Challenger that Dodge brought to the Roundup the SRT Hellcat Redeye drew attention for its 797-horsepower engine and raucous exhaust note.I reviewed the Redeye last November and shot some incredible burnout video with this incredible car. If you missed it, you can see it here. The Challenger also won the Performance Car of Texas title. Other top awards include the 2019 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid as Family Car of Texas and 2020 Kia Telluride as CUV of Texas. Our Terry Box just reviewed the Pacifica hybrid and you can see his review here. TAWA members, who cover the automotive industry for print, online and broadcast outlets across the United States, voted on the top vehicles after spending two days comparing them in Denton, Texas. They took the vehicles on a series of street and handling exercises, pushing performance cars and taking other vehicles on slalom, acceleration and braking tests. Members also learned about the new vehicles' features and changes from manufacturer representatives. Check out our list of top 11 Texas Roundup interiors here. OVERALL AWARDSCAR OF TEXASWinner: 2019 Dodge ChallengerRunner-Up: 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia PERFORMANCE CAR OF TEXASWinner: 2019 Dodge ChallengerRunner-Up: 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia FAMILY CAR OF TEXASWinner: 2019 Chrysler PacificaRunner-Up: 2019 Nissan Maxima CUV OF TEXASWinner: 2020 Kia TellurideRunner-Up: 2019 Mercedes-Benz E63 S Wagon CATEGORY AWARDSCOMPACT CARWinner: 2020 Toyota Corolla XSERunner-Up: 2020 Toyota Corolla LE Hybrid MID-SIZE CARWinner: 2019 Nissan Maxima PlatinumMINIVANWinner: 2019 Chrysler Pacifica LimitedGREEN VEHICLEWinner: 2019 Nissan LEAF PLUS SVRunner-Up: 2019 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Limited MID-SIZE LUXURY CARWinner: 2019 Lexus ES 350 F SportRunner-Up: 2019 Lexus ES 300h Luxury PERFORMANCE COMPACTWinner: 2019 Volkswagen GTI SEPERFORMANCE COUPEWinner: 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat RedeyeRunner-Up: 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack Widebody PERFORMANCE SEDANWinner: 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia QuadrifoglioRunner-Up: 2019 Volkswagen GLI 35th Anniversary Edition COMPACT CUVWinner: 2019 Mazda CX-5 Signature AWDRunner-Up: 2019 Toyota RAV4 XSE Hybrid MID-SIZE CUVWinner: 2020 Kia Telluride SXLUXURY CUVWinner: 2019 Mercedes-Benz E63 S Wagon Carbon FiberRunner-Up: 2019 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio |