Roadtest - UTVi Autocar Awards 2009
The UTVi Autocar Awards were quite a rocking affair. Indian Ocean delivered some entrancing numbers. Special guest Katrina Kaif was incandescent. But if you’re reading this at Autocarindia.com you don’t care about any of that. The cars matter. Here is the honour list of the cars, the companies and the ideas that earned themselves the UTVi Autocar Awards trophy. Here goes… The Best Drivers Car Surprise, surprise. A roaring 3.2 litre V6 petrol engine, four wheel drive and a delightfully taut chassis the Audi A4 certainly deserves it. The Innovation Of The Year Award Keep it simple. That’s the idea behind the Mahindra Bolero Micro Hybrid. Mahindra took the lead in hybrid technology for the masses by integrating the Stop-Start system from Bosch into India’s largest selling UV. It claims to offer better fuel efficiency at a very reasonable cost. Bosch received the award along with Mahindra for the development of the system. If you’re too impatient just skip ahead to the winners of the car of the year and Bike of The Year. Else go through the flow and feel the tempo building… Variant Of The Year The i10’s debut was nothing short of stellar. It swept into showrooms and swept Indian small car buyers off their feet. Hyundai upped the ante by adding a punchier engine (the KAPPA), an automatic transmission and sportier interiors. All the other pluses remain intact. Green Award Building momentum for eco-consciousness in an extremely cost sensitive market like India isn’t easy. Honda spear-headed the cause in the mainstream passenger car market with the Civic Hybrid. Car Advertisement Of The Year Draft FCB Ulka has designed some refreshing awards for Tata’s Indica in the past. The Indica Vista’s grand advertisement wasn’t quite in the same vein. But, it caught the jury’s eye for the clear presentation of the car. Best Value For Money Car More car per car. And they deliver every time. Tata’s gen 2 Indica - the Indica Vista. The rough edges of the Indica have been replaced – the Vista offers even better space than before, the ride comfort is great and its built better than before. Best Design and Styling Honda’s all new City roped in this one in a cinch. The sporty face with the arrow-head design cuts through the competition here for a well deserved trophy. Viewers Choice Award – Car This is what the people voted for as their top pick as the car of the year. Honda’s all new City seems to cement Honda’s status as a brand and that’s desired by most Indians. Viewers Choice Award - Bike Yamaha’s siblings the R15 and the FZ16 were close contenders, but the versatile and exciting FZ16 had everyone’s attention. Its sharp styling, awesome handling and great price tag just managed to clinch the deal ahead of its sibling. Manufacturer Of The Year Changing perceptions, that’s exactly what Hyundai has managed. The i10 and now the i20 have given the “Made In India” tag global acceptance and recognition. Kudos, indeed. Best Small Car Small is what Maruti Suzuki does best. The A-Star adds chutzpah to that list. The all new small car from Maruti Suzuki gets the right mix of fuel efficiency, pricing, and styling give Indian customers a very exciting small car indeed; small boot and cramped back bench notwithstanding. Best Mid-Size Car Fiat’s Linea has sneaked its way in to claim the title of Best Mid-Size car. Armed with a diesel engine the Linea sears through the competition, most notably the new Honda City. The styling and pricing made it just a bit easy. Best Executive Car Indians love the tough business-like feel that the VW Jetta comes loaded with. The drivers are pleased with the Jetta’s handling thanks to the firm ride quality. Its robustness and simplicity of design attracts people too. Best Luxury Car This is a feather in Honda’s cap. Despite formidable opposition from the likes of Mercedes’ C-Class and Audi’s A4 the Accord manages to hit a sweet spot. Volumes of space, ample power, racy styling and a great price tag; the new Accord offers a great proposition to all the bada sahibs. Best SUV Of The Year Chevy’s hit a real sweet spot with its Captiva. A punchy diesel engine, massive road presence, and three rows of seats… the Captiva has got it all. If you were impatient and jumped straight here.. hope you have as much fun as fun you would have had if you had gone through the complete build up! Bike Of The Year The bike that sat in the shadow of its sibling, now takes revenge. The FZ16 was lost in the shadow of the Yamaha YZF R15 at the Auto Expo. But, things have been more than squared. The smooth, hunky Yamaha FZ16 has raked in the Viewers Choice Award and the prestigious Bike Of The Year. Well done Yamaha! Car Of The Year The big one. It’s all very close. To quote Vin Diesel from Fast and the Furious, “It don’t matter whether you win by an inch or a mile….”, and the same applies to Fiat’s Linea. The stylish new car from Italy strikes the right notes – be it styling or pricing. A creamy smooth diesel engine option just leapfrogs it to the winner’s trophy. You’re going to have to stand in line to get a test ride of the new Fiat Linea now. |
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