[sourabhzen]

It is indeed very tough to select COTY. None of them strike a chord instantly. One needs to list down positives to decide the winner. It's not the way it was in previous year, when heart just picked up the car in an instant after looking at the list. I will ponder over the list to come to a conclusion.

[mayank0782]

Has to be the Kwid in my opinion.

The way it looks, the features it has provided as an option to the first time car buyer and thus has redefined the segment, is truly outstanding.

[anb]

With so many good options like Creta, Figo, Jazz and kwid , it is tough to choose this year's car of the year. Finally I voted for Kwid as it is the best car car in the segment by a far margin. I am quite surprised to see the no of votes for the Baleno considering it doesn't stand out in any of the areas. In fact the build and interior is poorer than competition(i20,jazz and polo) and comes only with 75 bhp engine.

[avdhesh15]

I have voted for the Kwid.

It was down to 3 cars for me and the reasons are as follows:

1. Renault Kwid: The only car to well and truly try and dethrone the king of the segment and keep Maruti on its toes. The Eon couldn't dent the Alto much but I am sure the Kwid can if Renault can back it up with proper ASS.

2. Hyundai Creta: Awesome launch and created a new segment. Best moves included having multiple options for buyers - petrol, diesel, automatic, etc. Was a close call for me between these Kwid and Creta. But then my decision was taken in favor of Kwid because of the higher degree of disruption created. If not the Kwid, Creta was surely my vote.

3. Maruti Baleno: Might have voted for it if it were a "regular" hatchback. It's by no notion a "premium" hatchback and hence doesn't get my vote. But anyway would have come in at no 3 after Kwid and Creta.

[mpksuhas]

My vote goes for Kwid, single handily gives Renault a second life in India. 10K units sold in two months!!

[kashif_baig]

Renault Kwid it must be for re-defining the paradigm of what a sub-4 lakh car could look like. It's worth it just considering the value that it brings to the table even without factoring the long term maintainability, serviceability and resale issues taken into consideration.

[rednikhil]

Voted for the S Cross for the reasons as under:

• Outstanding, segment best Fiat sourced 1.6 Multijet/DDIS engine.
• Classy, understated and high quality interiors. Spacious too.
• The fact that it's an honest, unpretentious design. Does not pose as an SUV when it is not one.
• Excellent road manners - more Euro than Jap.
• Decent levels of kit ie HID headlamps and all-round disc brakes.

[livetodrive]

Hi,
I voted for Ford Figo Aspire because of its Aston Martin looks . The review clearly shows its power train is better than the competitors. The phone docker is so attractive. I wish to give a TD soon for this nice car.

Thanks,

[extreme_torque]

Could not decide between the new Figo or the Quid. One is a revolutionary small car design, the other is bargain performance car of the year. In the end went with power, Figo it is.

[mahesh_sn]

Voted for Figo simply for its brilliant 1.5L diesel engine. I don't care if it does not bring volumes for its creator. But, if I am in the market today for a practical, affordable and fun to drive hatchback, this is the one I would go for. S-Cross 1.6 D and Creta 1.6 D are overpriced IMO and hence didn't vote for them.

[groom]

Renault Kwid is my choice! this kid really did a good job.

but the creta is going give every other car a tough fight for this award. icoty might go to Creta.

[charanreddy]

No offence but I feel Ford Aspire is not getting its due.

For a compact sedan that offers 6 air bags, great styling and brilliant pricing, this is a segment game changer.

However, like we have seen in the past, game changers don't matter if they dont have a M or H badge.

On the bright side, we may see a lot of discounts to boost sales. This makes the product more VFM.

[abhiram.soma]

For me COTY would be LR discovery sport. I believe awarding the best and in todays world Discovery Sport has become a really good aspirational product. Few reasons for going with discovery sport
1. The strong built of LR. Many have faced a problems in this section including me, yet I feel these are the best SUVs in terms of built quality
2. Performance. Found Discovery Sport better to drive than the many contenders in the same range, such as Evoque, Q5, X3 or the XC90
3. Road Presence. BMW and Audi have been here for a while and are a known members on the Indian roads. It is not everyday we spot a LR.
4. Indian. Since JLR is owned by an Indian company, there is some amount of patriotism and pride associated with JLR

[mrbaddy]

This is my second COTY vote after voting in 2014.

Dec 2014:
I was seriously contemplating whether to wait for launches of ix25 or SX4 Cross (their names at that time) or go for Zest. I had decided myself that I would only go for a SUV/MUV/CrossOver kind of vehicle for my next upgrade, but still got swayed by Zest with the package it is offering at that price is what made me to vote for Zest. I somehow think that the optional safety packs at low cost launched on Maruti cars in recent times (Wagon R, Celerio etc) are inspired by the XMS variant of Tata Zest. It should atleast have 5k of those DZire copies that are doing every month.

On a side note, I still did not complete my upgrade yet and might go for S-Cross 1.3 in a few days time or who knows if I'll be Zestified.

Dec 2015:
I wanted to wait for few days before casting my vote. However even my sleep is also getting disturbed for the last few days with various cars flashing across urging me to upgrade. Then I realized that if at all I upgrade in the next few days, my voting decision would be influenced by that and I didn't want that to happen.

Creta: Read the official review and you'll realize that you'll be losing out a lot in comparison to Elite i20 which is more than 50% cheaper. Car looks very good, no doubt about that. But is it worth it? Hyundai should have done like S Cross in building up their variants between 1.4 & 1.6 diesels. They should have a top-end model in their 1.4 engine too.

Figo & Aspire: Decent Looks, infact I would rate the Sedan above Zest in the looks department and segment first 6 airbags makes them worthy contenders. But losing your core strengths (Reduced build quality & driving dynamics) to compete with Maruti. Wont cut for me.

Bolt: Not a worthly sibling to the Zest. On a sidenote, when possible try to see a running Bolt from behind. Tata should have done a mini SUV out of this. Nevertheless, this is a trial product along with Zest to set the quality expectations of future Tata products.

Baleno: I want to check the car in the showroom. Extremely light weight body panels (was able to press inside even with my little finger) and the flimsy front door panels and off I came running away without giving a second look.

Lodgy: Name itself killed half of its potential sales. I like the car, but car of the year? NO.

TUV300: same comment as Lodgy without the name part.

SCross: 1.6 Overpriced. Maruti instead of running over board with discounts should do something about those Alloys which is killing the looks of the car.

Jazz: Honda = Overpriced. Not getting my vote.

Datsun Go+: Zero votes till now. No need for further comment.

Trailblazer, CLA, Avanti, Land Rover Discovery Sport: Not given a second thought as I wont even take a test drive of these cars. So not considered.

For me, it would have been a close call between Creta & Kwid, if not for the over priced Creta. I'm a value for money guy unless it is a RR Evoque.
I have a Kwid right opposite my apartment parking slot and I feel like below.

Originally Posted by nishsingh

Renault Kwid does just that - it pulls your hearts strings like no other!

AND Kwid gets my vote. and the below quote takes the cake.

Originally Posted by nishsingh

It is understandable for one to yearn for a car from a segment above. But yearning for a car from a segment below? That defines the Car of the Year for me.

Thanks for reading.

[Car-tya]

I voted for the Ford Figo Aspire,

Going through the posts I agree with the competition between the Kwid, Baleno and Creta. The reason for me choosing the Aspire were

Kwid – Definitely a game changer but I see it as a second car and not the first one I would like to own. Sole reason otherwise I think it would have walked away with the prize. A solid contender.
Baleno – A strong contender and possibly my pick when I set the list for my next car but I feel Maruti played it safe again with the engine choice. Giving it a premium feel but choosing the same engine was a negative for me. I would have loved to have had a new engine on it and I know the current one is more than enough from what I have read. Baleno was a close second coz I compare it to the i20 Elite and it’s not a clear winner.
Creta – I know about Hyundai premium having one currently and having driven a few others. Their cars pamper you with functionality. The only negative at this point was the price from my point of view. Also not having an automatic with top specs for the price was another one and the XUV5OO with the new automatic adds to the conundrum.

The reason I went for the Aspire was because it makes a lot of sense for me to upgrade to as the next car. The engine is all new and makes a compelling choice in the segment. Power and efficiency to match with good looks and safety features.