[jbpanda]

Vitara Brezza bags 3 awards at the CNBC-TV18 OVERDRIVE Awards 2017:

Vitara Brezza is Car Of The Year, Compact SUV Of The Year and Viewers Choice Car Of The Year.

I don't know whether all the panel judges owned a Brezza and therefore biased in their opinion or considered it to be segment defining and relevant to the Indian consumer on the basis of their experience and expertise.

Irrespective of that, I must be candid that I own one and a loyal Maruti fan and with my limited knowledge, I consider it to be a very good car ticking almost all boxes. Of course, it's my personal opinion and people may disagree.

[Nav-i-gator]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Please refer to GTO's opening post. While listing out the cars, he has aptly listed out all these areas either in pros or cons section of the respective cars.

For common man in India, a car bought without considering the price, mileage and service will cause nightmares.

Consider things in its 'entirity'. Simple.

The point is, COTY should not necessarily be the car that sells more in India. That way, only marutis should be COTY. The factors listed in the pros and cons are factors (that can be prioritized depending on the buyer's needs) to help people in deciding the cars to buy, and these are always relative. relative to MS, a ford car will have A.S.S in cons list, but compared to a nissan or a Isuzu, that might be a pro.

Prices are relative as well. Brezza and Ecosport are almost same price, similar cost of ownership too considering ford sells spares OTC now and I don't think MS cars (upwards from swift) have less service cost compared to other manufacturers anymore.

While comparing cars in their entirity, one must first compare to the existing products in the same segment only. And IF in its entirity, the car in contention is best in its segment, then we should look into other contenders. An endy is benchmarked to fortuner, current segment best and betters it (arguably). Tiago contenders are what? celerio? Eon? Kwid? or Alto? it probably betters all of them.

What about Brezza? it is the safe choice since it is coming from MS- neither the best looking (subjective though), nor the best performing, nor the best riding, nor the best built in its segment.

Don't get me wrong, I may also buy one if I would be in the lookout for a good all-rounder mini-SUV, I have nothing against it. But, most certainly, my choice would be driven by a lot of compromises, play-safe decisions made purely by putting my heart close.

And, to put it bluntly, I will not (rather should not) vote a car because I bought it (and hence it has to be the best. It might be best for me, considering my requirements though).

[motorworks]

Originally Posted by jbpanda

Vitara Brezza bags 3 awards at the CNBC-TV18 OVERDRIVE Awards 2017:



Vitara Brezza is Car Of The Year, Compact SUV Of The Year and Viewers' Choice Car Of The Year.



I don't know whether all the panel judges owned a Brezza and therefore biased in their opinion or considered it to be segment defining and relevant to the Indian consumer on the basis of their experience and expertise.



Irrespective of that, I must be candid that I own one and a loyal Maruti fan and with my limited knowledge, I consider it to be a very good car ticking almost all boxes. Of course, it's my personal opinion and people may disagree.

I see that's a reply to my posts, well I did say that one cannot be voting for a COTY just because they own one and i stand by it. Secondly most of these COTY awards ( except Top Gear and T-BHP, I will come to this a little later ) are usually showered on cars that are usually part of the mass market segment.

If you see Top gear they would give out COTY to highly irrelevant cars such as Audi RS7 etc, whereas T-BHP votes for the car purely on merit, yet something that is relevant to the Indian consumer.

You can see the COTY of other magazines and shows every year vs T-Bhp and you will clearly see the difference. In fact this year even CNB COTY has gone to the Octavia rather than a populist car like the Brezza.

In any case I think we are going off topic now since it doesn't look like the Brezza is going to bag the honour in T-bhp and neither is the Innova crysta which was my actual choice based on the parameters I mentioned earlier.

[adneeraj]

I voted for the Endy! Although Tiago was also on my mind.

I liked Nehaagg's post defining the AL and AP concepts. I respect everyone's opinion on voting for a certain car in this line up and GTO has clearly mentioned its positives and negatives.

The Rapid facelift is one, Endy is one and the Tiago is another. They all fall in different price brackets, have different USPs as well but that's the beauty of it.

The Tiago has shown what a design and build quality can be on offer in the 4-6 lacs range! The interiors are beautiful and well done. It is groundbreaking to see something like this compared to the Celerios or WagonRs or the ageing i10 which was discontinued or even Tata's own Indica from yesteryears. It is an amazing product which stands out and that's I guess one main reason why it has garnered more than 36% votes here.

Ford also offers world class package with the Endy. Two (good) engine options, gearboxes, safety, the creature comforts etc. It really stacks up well or even excels against the Fortuner which leads this segment here in India. But this entry gave an option to an otherwise limited choice, right? And there is that 'ahaaa..' moment when you see an Endy zoom past or approach you on the road.

It was nice to see the Octavia bag the COTY earlier. It shows (maybe) that there are several aspects in consideration that pick a certain car for what it offers as eligibility for that award and not just the basics of numbers and dealer networks and cost of ownership etc. Though these are absolutely important when choosing a car when out in the market for a purchase.

Like rightly said in a post above, if those were the only factors, MSIL would have been the auto manufacturer bagging this award each and every time

[asit.kulkarni93]

Although I have voted for the Tiago. I actual have praises for three launches this year-

1. Tata Tiago
2. BMW X1
3. Isuzu D-max V-cross.

Tata Tiago- Finally TML is back on track. The Tiago is a paisa vasool package, especially the diesel. Finally, someone has been able to break the monopoly of the Wagon-R (which I personally like) & the Celerio. Having experienced the Concorde service with my Nano, I have nothing to explain. I really hope the upcoming products are equally good or even better.

BMW X1- You get a BMW SUV with a proper spare wheel placed in the wheel well. Optional all-wheel drive with a tried and tested 2.0L turbo-diesel engine. The interiors are spacious and you can use the boot space. It's basically a compact SUV perfect for urban dwellers.

Isuzu D-max V-cross- Finally we get a tried and tested Japanese 4wd vehicle under 20L. A lifestyle pick-up which is desirable for many. Isuzu has hit the sweet spot.

Apart from that its good to see the New Endeavour and Superb. They have been positioned really well. On the other hand the Accord Hybrid looks like a joke at 42L.

[jbpanda]

The fact that Octavia bagged the COTY and Brezza bagged 3 other awards itself shows that it is not just the numbers and dealer networks and cost of ownership which was playing while awarding these cars. We may either consider the Awards as genuine, based on merits or not refer to and rely upon them at all to substantiate a stand.

The fact that Skoda bagged the award and not MSIL shows that they did consider other factors on merit as well.

The Brezza may not bag the TBhp COTY but the voting does show that it's extremely popular even amongst Bhpians (purely on merit and as being relevant to the Indian consumer) and definitely amongst the mass market segment, unless some of us really feel that people in India buy cars blindly on the basis of their herd mentality.

Tiago may be a very good car as compared to its segment competitors and Tata's own predecessors. Good that it may bag the TBhp COTY 2016. The Zest also bagged few awards including TBhp COTY 2014. However, it remained an Award winning car on paper and it's positives possibly did not appeal to the mass market segment.

Personally, I would rather prefer driving a car which is the populist choice and proven to be reliable and successful which has won several awards than choose a Car which is an Award winning Car like the Zest!

[GTO]

The Team-BHP Car of 2016 is the Tata Tiago!



An impressive product without doubt, in a segment where it's most difficult to get the cost <-> benefit balance right. If you read its official review, you'll see that the 'what you'll like' points (8) greatly outweigh the 'what you won't' points (5). And among the dislikes, only 3 were about the actual product.

Tata did go all out with the Tiago, what with its chic styling, quality, likeable cabin, neutral suspension, feature list and - last but not the least - that Harman sound system. Just wish that the engines were more impressive.

The market has rewarded Tata too. October & November saw the factory dispatching 6,000 Tiagos (each month).

Congratulations Tata!

[samaspire]

A well deserved winner. It is a great car for the first time car buyer, and also has the desirability factor to be the 2nd / 3rd car for city runabouts. Wouldn't look out of place standing next to a bigger German.

[The Brutailer]

Hmm so a car which has :
- Mediocre engines
- Bad NVH
- Low Reliability
- Poor A.S.S.
is the most popular car on Team BHP!

I guess sentiment has made this car such a success among us. But Tata owns Jaguar and Land Rover! Surely they could've made better engines and NVH levels?

But then, it did take up it's segment one notch above thanks to it's surprising features (for the segment) and awesome looks hence is the car to beat! Congratulations Tata!

[carwatcher]

To me the real winner is Ford Endeavour. The gap also between the Endy and Tiago also reduced as Tiago was running away with 43% of votes but finally settled around 36-37%.

[Raulspace999]

So thats the verdict. I must say a well deserved one. However, we are yet to see the flood of tiagos on mumbai roads. It may be a well all round product but will that translate into actual sales?

[gaurav_3000ad]

Originally Posted by The Brutailer

I guess sentiment has made this car such a success among us. But Tata owns Jaguar and Land Rover! Surely they could've made better engines and NVH levels?

I'm sure they could have but would you have paid jaguar and range rover kind of money for a tiago.

As regards to mediocre engines and poor NVH levels, I don't see any of its immediate rivals posting sub 10 second quarter mile runs or being mistaken for teslas on road.

The tiago is a great product for what it sells at and it's high time we accept that.

[swiftnfurious]

I don't want to quote anyone, but I think the engines are pretty much a standard fare in the segment where Tiago competes (except for Grand i10 & Beat petrol, rest are all 3 pot engines as Tiago). The worth of the product is making a bunch of bhp'ians compare this to higher segment products I believe. The moment someone compares Tiago with a higher segment car, it's a win for the company!

Posting the comparo chart from the Tiago official review below.

1. Please see the products in the same price range and think for a minute before drifting to the right side.

2. Once you move post the first 4 columns, please take a moment to check the power / torque figures across the chart.

3. Look at the diesel option of all products and you actually get to see the weird logic (spec Vs price)

4. On the interior quality, only the Hyundais are equivalent or better (and expensive as well).

5. There are a bunch of "feel" good factors for the product (design, features etc).

6. As for A$$, I personally am not convinced TATA is great and it is yet to prove.

7. For reliability, I doubt Tiago has had any major problems yet

8. And finally, if we get a (real) Sports variant (as speculated), the seemingly biggest grouse would be taken care as well.

[discoverwild]

Funny, how people who don't own a Tata (or at least a newer generation) crib about reliabity. Also crib about how Tata owns JLR but are not using the same tech for their smaller cars.

Swiftnfurious has shown that the Tiago is a clear lakh cheaper than the Grand i10, yet keeping on par with most of the features, size and specs.

Whether a car is a success or not depends on two major factors - Brand perception and herd mentality. It's brand perception (their own doing) that cost Tata their market and it is the same thing that they have been working hard to correct. Perceptions take time to die. Bad ones even longer.

GTO has applauded the ride quality of the Hexa saying he hasn't felt anything close in cars priced lesser than a Crore, but crib we shall if Tata prices it on par with the XUV500 or (God forbid) takes on the Innova Crysta for comparison.

The Tiago is what it is. A winner on its own merits. It may not have won all hearts, but certainly it did many and by a large margin. Other auto magazines do not hold an opinion poll to choose the COTY. If they did, then they wouldn't have to give out 'the best gearknob' award. They need ads to run their magazine. Team-BHP doesn't.

Here's wishing the little Tata car a great success, wishing RavenAvi a belated birthday and wishing all BHPians a very Happy New Year!

[Sree73]

Congratulations to the Tiago. Good product and a well deserved crown as Team BHP Car of the year.

I do not own a Tata. But regarding the reliability, I feel it's pretty reliable looking at the number of Indicas on the road as taxis. Generally, the mass taxi segment goes for a vehicle which are easy to maintain / reliable and cost effective. The brand may be suffering from the initial problems it had when the Indica was launched. Tata had fixed all those issues and became very reliable one. Only issue is that the initial perception remains.