[pkothak]

This year absolutely no competition, very easy to vote. My vote goes to Kia Seltos. Kia gave a clear format to other manufacturers who are planning to enter Indian Auto sector.

[SaiSW]

Voted for the Seltos, although I absolutely loved the harrier but the faults and Tata's attitude is hard to digest.
Very few cars have the capability to make Hyundai nervous about their equivalent cars in the segment. Yes they're the same company but creta is being offered with discounts now, to reduce the hit from seltos. That just speaks volumes about the Seltos' quality.

Like Steve jobs said, if you don't cannibalise yourself, somebody else will.
Hyundai and Kia basically own the compact SUV segment now.

[BANDHAV]

Voted for Triber. I feel it is a game changer car for Renault. The sales numbers are singing the same song.

A great family mover at a fantastic price point. Not a compromise like other available options.

[vaasscit]

Voted for Kia Seltos

Kia has done their homework pretty well and it shows. 14000+ vehicles/month in Mid-size SUV segment when the market is in a gloomy state is a phenomenal achievement.

Boils down to the well-engineered product and the sheer number of variants with a long list of features. KIA has set a high benchmark in the mid SUV segment, which would make even the Market leader envy the new entrant.

[superbad]

Three things based on which I judge cars for awards like these :-
1) Strong fundamentals - engine, space, ride & handling, mileage etc
2) Market impact - self explanatory
3) Novelty value - Bringing something new to the table, or pushing the existing envelope further.

My vote was a toss up between the Harrier, Triber & Seltos. Was rooting for Harrier. However, the tepid market response & niggles in initial lot of cars lowered the "strong fundamental" aspect (although I've read Tata has taken corrective action). However in any case, the Seltos takes the crown in all the aforementioned parameters. Hence has to be the COTY.

[Sandeep500]

Voted for Honda Civic because I feel it is truly well engineered and complete product which you can buy without any worries about reliability or after sales services. It is also very distinctive and beautiful to look at and stands out among its competitors and will remain so in coming years. Seltos is a hot favourite at present but see after a few months it will loose its uniqueness or presence and will be a another mundane machine like others in terms of design. Overall it is a good car too.

[Funny]

We all know which car is going to win this year's award. The 2nd and 3rd place is also quite predictable. According to me the top 3 in order will be :
1. Seltos
2. Harrier
3. Triber

P.S. I haven't voted yet at the time of writing this post. But my vote will go to Triber since it has created a new segment altogether.

[porsche_guy]

Voted for the Seltos. I've been in love with the car since the day it was revealed and Kia's dedication to the market shows us everything. The product was bang on, the marketing was bang on and the strategy was bang on!

It is quintessentially the best all-rounder urban SUV IMHO this side of 20 lakhs and deserves the award very well.

Since there is no option to vote for another car as well, I would just like to say that the Triber would be my next pick. Renault engineers have shown what they have got with the car just like when the Kwid was launched. Renault should not let this one be forgotten, it has the potential to revive the brand entirely

Cheers!

[TROOPER]

I voted for Kia Seltos, even though we're putting our money on the Hexa (Meets our requirements of comfort, safety and ride quality )

Hats off to Kia for the way they managed the launch, the product design and variant, and their marketing blitzkrieg.

I would deduct a point as far as pricing is concerned, but I guess we could blame the Creta's price sheet for that. And who cares I guess, it's literally raining Seltos everywhere.

All the best Kia take care of your initial customers. Don't pull a Skoda on them!

If there was a sub 10 lac segment then the award goes to the Triber, a very sincere effort from Renault.

Ps: Tata, this title could have been yours with the Harrier, but you digged your own grave.

[artemis_fowl]

2019 was indeed a great year for us; 2018 was a rather dull year with no real choices.
Well, thinking out loud:

• How in the world is Maruti moving so many S-pressos every month while Kwid isn’t able to match up to it? A mediocre product overall, with styling and the engine being its main highlights. Exactly the same case with WagonR vs Santro.

• The Nios is basically a redressed and uglier version of the Grand i10; old wine in a new bottle, with some features thrown in. No thanks.

• Overall, was pretty impressed by the Venue. A capable contender to the Brezza’s throne (why does it not outsell the Brezza though is beyond me). The XUV300 had potential to acheive greatness, but Mahindra botched up the pricing and transmission options.

• Kia Seltos and MG Hector These two manufacturers have truly hit it out of the park. As GTO had said, this is the stuff of business schools. Hyundai must be laughing all the way to the bank.
  Nissan doesn’t even deserve to be here.

• Harrier It’s going to end up as a flop. Hope they get the Altroz right.

• How are people buying the Civic when the much more capable 1.8 TSi is right next to them? I believe it’s the sexy looks, great handling and ride, and the halo effect of the previous model. A neighbour stretched his budget significantly, only to buy the base trim in petrol. I couldn’t believe it at all!

• The contenders above this price point hold little to no relevance to the market. Well, the Kona is sold out for the year! At that price point that too! Fantastic job by Hyundai!
  Lacklustre effort by Audi India, wonder why did they even bother. I don’t expect big numbers for the 3 Series either.

Overall, my top picks would be: Triber (sheer VFM, though has some compromises), Seltos (going all out on every department; the market has clearly rewarded them), XUV300 (premium, but unfortunately priced at a premium too) and the Kona (fantastic move by Hyundai and an important effort to boost the image of EVs in India).
My pick would be the Seltos. (though the Kona comes at a very, very close second).

Manufacturer of the year? Definitely Hyundai (Hyundai+Kia)! Kia’s success in India was clearly due to the years of experience and hard work of Hyundai India.

[ashvek3141]

Voted for the Kia SELTOS.
Undoubtedly the runaway hit for the year!! This car’s got everything for a consumer looking for a compact SUV in 12-20 lakh rupee segment. And what choices of variants, engines, transmission; you are literally spoilt for choice.
Though the introductory prices were tempting & now that there’ll be a rise of upto 50k, I feel it still has what a consumer aptly needs in this segment.

Kudos to Kia.. what an entry!! This is just the beginning of a wonderful innings in India.

[KiloAlpha]

For those who are interested, here is a history of Team-BHP Car of the Year.

2009
Car of the year: Tata Nano
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...tata-nano.html
Total Votes: 1058
Tata Nano got 406 votes (38.37%)
Vehicle sales: Flop. After the initial excitement, sales dropped off. Now discontinued.
T-BHP Official Review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ve-review.html

2010
Car of the year: Ford Figo
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ford-figo.html
Total Votes: 979
Ford Figo got 375 votes (38.3%)
Vehicle sales: Hit. Sold a consistently high number (5-6K per month) in the initial 3 years, then tailed off. Now discontinued, replaced by new Figo, which is a sales flop.
T-BHP Official Review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...go-2010-a.html

2011
Car of the year: Mahindra XUV5OO
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ra-xuv500.html
Total Votes: 2626
Mahindra XUV5OO got 1487 votes (56.63%)
Vehicle sales: Super hit. Continued to consistently be the top performer in the segment until a few months back.
T-BHP Official Review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ve-review.html

2012
Car of the Year: Renault Duster
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...lt-duster.html
Total Votes: 2122
Renault Duster got 1135 votes (53.49%)
Vehicle sales: Super hit - at the time. Defined a segment, and sold huge numbers until competition caught up with it. Now feel badly outdated, and is a slow seller despite facelift and automatic variants being launched.
T-BHP Official Review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html

2013
Car of the Year: Ford Ecosport
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...-ecosport.html
Total Votes: 1362
Ford Ecosport got 696 votes (51.1%)
Vehicle sales: Moderate hit. Unique offering in the compact crossover segment, carved a niche for itself. Good sales numbers despite new competition. Facelift launched recently appears to continue the success. Best selling Ford model for a while now.
T-BHP Official Review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html

2014
Car of the Year: Tata Zest
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...tata-zest.html
Total Votes: 2454
Tata Zest got 962 votes (39.2%)
Vehicle sales: Flop. Has not met Tata's expectations, did not pose a threat to the Maruti DZire. The few cars that sell now are mostly for the fleet market.
T-BHP Official Review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html

2015
Car of the Year: Renault Kwid
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ault-kwid.html
Total Votes: 2363
Renault Kwid got 692 votes (29.28%) - the narrowest winning margin. Hyundai Creta polled 557 votes (23.57%), Maruti-Suzuki Baleno 330 (13.97%), and the Figo-Aspire twins got 293 (12.4%)
Vehicle Sales: Moderate hit. Initial bookings were strong, and Renault upped the game delivering to expectations. However, now selling around 5K per month - which is below expectations.
T-BHP Official Review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html
Kwid 1.0 review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html
Kwid AMT review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html

2016
Car of the Year: Tata Tiago
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ata-tiago.html
Total Votes: 2451
Tata Tiago got 901 votes (36.76%)
Vehicle sales: Hit. Has been (mostly) finding around 5K-7K homes every month.
T-BHP Official Review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html

2017
Car of the Year: Jeep Compass
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...p-compass.html
Total Votes: 2387
Jeep Compass got 1047 votes (43.86%)
Vehicle Sales: Hit. Like the Renault Duster 6 years back, it has carved out a niche at its price point and was virtually without competition - for a while. With competition catching up, sales have now begun their slow decline.
T-BHP Official Review: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...al-review.html

2018
Car of the Year: Mahindra Marazzo
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...a-marazzo.html (Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2018. EDIT: It's the Mahindra Marazzo)
Total Votes: 1964
Mahindra Marazzo got 726 votes (36.97%)
Vehicle Sales: Flop. It started off selling OK numbers, but sales have since fallen and is now badly underperforming.
T-BHP Official Review: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offic...al-review.html (Mahindra Marazzo : Official Review)

[headbanger]

To me, this award is won by Seltos as much as it is lost by Harrier. This could have been so easily Harrier's. While Seltos came all guns blazing with multiple transmissions and engine options, Tata's effort was mediocre at best compared to Kia. Whether Tata is not learning or making the same mistakes again, the kind of buzz that Harrier created masked all of that. But the market clearly is not forgiving that and the new entrants (Seltos and Hector) took the sheen out of Harrier's sales.
Clearly it shows that having the best of ingredients and chef techniques don't create the best dish.
Congrats Kia!!! You deserve this award. Hope Kia will continue to bring cars with same pedigree in 2020 as well.

[Vid6639]

Way too easy a decision this year. Kia Seltos is an easy pick. However there are a few really worthy options.

XUV3OO: Absolutely loved the XUV to drive. Superb petrol and diesel engines and good ride/handling as well. Misses out on a proper automatic and gets a sad AMT instead hence out of contention imo.

Hyundai Kona: First proper EV and very little compromises to make for an EV. A first mover advantage.

Tata Harrier: They have handed this to Kia imo. They just needed the 170BHP motor, a proper AT, more features and proper QC control. A half baked and ill thought out product.

MG Hector: A diesel AT and a slightly better design would have made this a difficult pick vs the Seltos.

[sandeepsc]

For me it's a tough choice between Kia Seltos and MG Hector. Both the car entered into the Indian market when auto industry was going through slowdown. All the major players were showing their negative growth and worst performance of all time. In such negative circumstances new players would have hesitated to enter into Indian market. But both companies showed if you have done proper homework you can withstand in the storm.

If I have to choose any one then my vote is definitely for Kia Seltos. Perfect market study, right strategy, seriousness towards Indian market, read the Indian Customer mindset and above all great packaged product are major reasons for Kia's success in Indian market. There is everything for everyone right from base model to top most. Sales number speaks for themselves.

It's Kia Seltos COTY for me.