[Aficionados]

Voted for Zest! It was difficult choice considering the strong competition this time.

Now why Zest? As many have covered already, this is very strong & honest attempt by Tata to bring the high end technology & safety in the reach of middle class families. Be it water purifier or the cheapest car, Tata's have always tried developing good products at affordable costs. And Zest is no difference, it is loaded with all available features of a segment (or two) above cars and yet is affordable. The design and overall styling looks futuristic and this car is here to stay for longer time.

BTW, it was very difficult to ignore Elite i20 and vote for Zest. New i20 is a class apart and looks way ahead of competitors in styling. Remove the Hyundai badge, and people will think its from either BMW, Audi or Merc

[yaseenar]

I voted for Honda city for the following reasons:

1. Car of the Year should be a car used by many and hence the premium segment (Mercedes, BMW, Audi etc.) gets ruled out.
2. Among the rest of the cars, Honda city is simply a better car overall.
3. Bringing diesel engine to Honda city with the best mileage in India is simply awesome!
4. New model has a lot of premium features, better looks and added space enough to get into the Civic segment.

[Rajuputana]

Voted for Ciaz. Well, I just bought one and feels that its a lot more car per car. The refinement of diesel is top class, all the talks of it being underpowered might have some merit, but I disagree. TD Honda City and Ciaz one after another, and Ciaz won hands down for me, with almost petrol level NVH inside the cabin and the overall fit and finish better than City (in my personal views), acres of space and Maruti ASS to back.

[adi_gt]

I have selected Honda City simply on the belief that you can't go wrong with Honda , do you ? This car has class leading naturally aspirated petrol motor coupled with great interiors and the no fuss ownership. As a member of legacy Honda City club, one thing I have really like about this car is the "fill it and drive it " nature for a lazy person like me. The ground clearance has improved, the interiors have improved , exteriors have improved with that shark fin antenna, rear may be a direct ripoff from B'mers but are you complaining ? I am not. Only apparent -ve which I see is that cheap looking chrome mustache (sorry if I am offending the owners ). But whenever I compare the mid level Honda city now to the mid segment Honda city of old, you can actually see the evolution of this car. Yes, doors have got thinner, fit and finish do not seem long lasting (unlike OHC,NHC,ANHC) but I am still betting on Honda to pull it off.

[ajay_satpute]

Originally Posted by naikameya

I wonder why ZEST, (no offence to owners and fans) but it might be the COTY within TATA Motors, no way is it path breaking in its class. There are many cars with better interiors, styling and features. Also I haven't seen many Zests on road

Can you elaborate this particular point of yours? When you say many cars have better interiors, are you comparing the Zest with say BMW 3 series or Range Rover Evoque or something? We should always compare a product in its segment and then comment on the features. Even though Xcent has super interiors, it loses to Zest to on exteriors and the tried and tested diesel motor running in the Zest.

Zest is a pretty new product in the market and Tata are still getting upto speed with delivery, so you may not have seen many Zests on the road. Just wait and watch, you should a see a lot many zests on the road soon.

Sorry for the OT. Also, i have no personal attachment with the Zest, but we can't make vague statements on this respected forum. So just my 2 cents.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Aficionados

Voted for Zest! It was difficult choice considering the strong competition this time.

Now why Zest? As many have covered already, this is very strong & honest attempt by Tata to bring the high end technology & safety in the reach of middle class families. Be it water purifier or the cheapest car, Tata's have always tried developing good products at affordable costs. And Zest is no difference, it is loaded with all available features of a segment (or two) above cars and yet is affordable. The design and overall styling looks futuristic and this car is here to stay for longer time.

:

The Zest is a great car. Only things missing are smart entry with push button start, automatic folding side mirrors and especially curtain airbags. These could have been provided as an optional package for say an extra 50K and the car would have been perfect. Hopefully some of this can be added during the next refresh. One other thing gets the car down: it is simply a tweaked Vista. A fresh design might have helped more. Nothing wrong in the Vista, it was a great car but I would like to see Tata come up with new shapes and designs like Hyundai did for their Elitei20. Why does a huge company like Tata have to limit itself to tweaking the same Indica design for over a decade?

[abhishek46]

My vote goes to the Zest! A very clear choice for me, this a comeback car for Tata. The Zest marks the day when tata's engineering finally came of age.

[prabhu789]

I voted for Tata Zest. First of all it's a welcome move by Tata to name the car without "Indica" and "Indigo" prefix. Its truly inspiring to see such a product from Tata stable. Zest is a path breaking product in many ways i.e first affordable diesel automatic, extremely spacious cabin for a compact sedan, good build quality, modern interiors with superior music system, 3 driving modes to target different segment of customers, etc.

[Nats]

For me its celerio (BTW i hate the car) just because of AMT and the options it opens up. Real example of "Jugaad"

[TheLizardKing]

I am not voting for three reasons:

1. I haven't driven (even test driven) any of the cars on the list. I bought my present car in 2013, and I am not in the market for a new car.
2. Even if I were, none of the cars in the list would make my shortlist. The reason for that follows.
3. Since it was launched, I have been in love with the Polo GT TSI, and whenever I decide to buy a new car, there won't be a shortlist.

But that doesn't mean I don't have the right to comment. So here goes.

Leaving out the cheap and expensive ends (no comments there), there are the following serious contenders: Maruti Celerio, Tata Zest, Hyundai Elite i20, and Honda City.

But before talking about these cars, I would like to talk about AMT. I have seen so many posts talking about how AMT is a "new technology", but according to the Magneti Marelli site, it was first introduced in 1997 in a Ferrari. New? Huh? In fact I read somewhere that AMT is actually antiquated technology on its way out in advance markets like Europe. So what is junk for Italy is gold for India eh? Reminds me of a certain politician I know.

Now for the cars:

Maruti Celerio: No tin can from the Maruti stable will get a vote from me in any poll, much less a COTY one. Maruti has badly let down the Indian customer in recent times, and I will bad-mouth them every chance I get till they take some really big steps to change their attitude to safety.

Tata Zest: If I were voting with my heart like so many here are, the Zest would get my vote. While I am not the type who goes to car showrooms for random test drives, I will TD the Zest soon, just to see what the hoopla is about.

Hyundai Elite i20: I hate Hyundai's design philosophy. There. I have said it out loud. I am a big fan of clean lines, and the cuts and creases on Hyundai cars make me want to puke. The Elite i20 is special, in that I also want to gouge my eyes out while I am puking.

Honda City: Am I wrong, or was the new City the car that introduced the "chrome moustache" to Indian cars? For that and that reason alone, I would happily skin the chief designer of Honda India alive, and then pour hot chrome all over him.

Phew. That is quite a long post for someone who is not even voting...

[autobahnjpr]

I voted for Ciaz because it is a completely new product in the higher segment by Maruti and a very competent one. I agree with Rajuputana that the refinement of Ciaz diesel is excellent unlike its competitors. When you press the button to start the engine, there is not even a minor vibration inside the cabin which is not true of its competitors. The doors are solidly built for Maruti standards and it is a properly designed and executed car from grounds up. Add to that the long list of features, ASS and Maruti reliability, vast dealer network and the thrifty engine and you do not have to think twice for the COTY 2014.

[ashw_r]

Voted for the Celerio since it is the first to bring in AMT and now everyone is catching up. Breeze to drive in the city (we have one in the family), taller seating and at Rs. 5.6 Lakhs (on road Bangalore) quite light on the pocket with the added advantage of fuel efficiency.

Overall, a good city car. I hope Maruti adds an option for ABS/Airbags.

My second choice was undoubtedly the Zest.

[viper_711]

Out of the whole list, only one car seems to have exceeded expectations. All others have either met or been below expectations.
Tata Zest wins my vote for just this reason.

[mobius 1]

The competition definitely was between the City and the Zest.

But seeing what the Zest has done to the market and revolutionary safety and technological features introduced by Tata at this price point.

Zest is the clear winner for me !

Big thumbs up for Tata Motors

[BlackPearl]

I have voted for Zest as Tata has done a remarkable job with the vehicle.