Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos!

PrasannaDhana · 6th December 2019, 22:38

Voted for Hyundai Venue

Reasons

1. Perfect urban car for the nuclear family- small footprint, looks good, enough space for 4+1 kid
2. Feels nice to be in
3. 1.4 diesel has great driveability
4. Hyundai A.S.S and peace of mind
5. Priced well for what it offers

I am sure that Kia Seltos will bag the award this year. One thing I have noticed every year, the car that moderators vote for, gets an edge in votes. It is a request that mods keep their vote a bit secretive (might be voting at the end??). Just my opinion.

TheHelix0202 · 6th December 2019, 22:45

Voted for the BMW 3 Series

Reasons:
https://www.cardekho.com/india-car-n...45.htm#fromAMP

VJ05 · 6th December 2019, 23:22

Seltos it is for me. I have test driven the Diesel AT variant and was quite impressed. Factory dispatches since the launch say a lot. Kia has provided the Template to other manufacturer's intent to launch in India, it's another matter although that Devil lies in Execution.

Ranabegins · 6th December 2019, 23:24

Voted for Renault Triber and the logic behind this is that this is truly new product and is a segment in itself. A lot of 7 seaters rarely get used as a 7 seater and it would be great if every one gave sliding seats and the option to remove the last row when more luggage needs to be carried. This car is truly creative.

landcruiser123 · 7th December 2019, 00:45

Hector it is for me.

Not too surprised seeing how successful the Kia Seltos is considering they could leverage Hyundai's knowledge and experience. The Hector was always a dark-horse. Driving dynamics aside, the car really doesn't have too many faults. Tata doesn't seem to have learnt their lessons with the Aria-Hexa re-engineering. They should have come with a properly finished Harrier with a great automatic transmission.

XRoader_001 · 7th December 2019, 00:50

Voted for Kia Seltos its got everything going for it from all powertrains available, right from the launch be it petrol, diesel, turbo or the automatic and that too with Bs6 compliance, even before the Bs6 deadline. Seltos is a well packaged product above all being an SUV it garnered superb response from the Indian car market. Kia Motors, besides receiving 86,840 bookings till date has also sold over 40,000 units of Seltos since its launch in August 2019.

Thus, making a grand entry into the Indian car scene, Kia Motors India was placed at Fourth Spot with a market share of 5.3% in Nov 2019 within four month of it's sales operation, which is higher than that of Toyota, Tata, Honda, Renault, Ford, VW that too with one Car offering only. In Nov 2019, Kia motors dispatched 14k units of Seltos while it's true that one model isn't sufficient to remain viable in a market like India which is highly price-sensitive, complex and has been dominated by one player from the last 37 years, of course we know the name isn't it, In short Kia Seltos Or Creta killer as some may like to call it. Kia along with Hyundai are the only two likely cousins which can take on the mighty Maruti Suzuki in the Indian car market.

Samba · 7th December 2019, 01:00

Going by brain, the undisputed winner is the Seltos & its the most deserving too.

But by taking the decision by heart over brain, i voted for the Civic!

In the 20L bracket, almost every manufacturer is giving us a Crossover/Suv/Muv. But none bothered to give a 4wd even as an option! I agree, these are very practical cars on the Indian road, but somewhere we are losing the fun factor of a sedan or the ruggedness of a butch Suv!
Among the new launches, the Civic feels like a fresh air!
One might say Camry, 3 series and the A6 are in the voting list too. Voted for the Civic as those are simply way above the reach of most of the Indian buyers! This doesn't mean the Civic comes cheap, but as i mentioned earlier about the 20L bracket!

A manual Civic petrol would have been the icing on the cake!

motorworks · 7th December 2019, 08:13

Every year my vote has always been to the car that has been segment defining in some aspect or the other. Purely by that logic, it should be the Triber this year, and many folks have also voiced out the same opinion. However, Im also concerned about how the Triber will eventually fare in safety standards, especially the last row of seats where the passengers are literally touching the rear windshield. No doubt, the crash test is yet to be done and also that is one common way to asses the basic safety of cars, and we need to wait for the same before making any decisions about the Triber. Hence there lies an apprehension about the Triber with regard to the safety, and that is probably why I chose not to vote for the Triber.

Seltos, a clear favourite in our forum, does not define anything new in the segment. Its basically a much better version of the Creta in every way. But one true standout point is the sheer number of engine and gear box combinations, which is unmatched by anyone out there. Plus all reviews point to a fairly all round performance, nothing major to dislike about, and it ticks all boxes, almost.
I think the Seltos is going to be what the Creta was, and would be the benchmark for the executive car in India for a long time to come, probably the only real competition could come in the form of the 2020 Creta.
Well done Kia! This is a firecracker of a start!

sumeethaldankar · 7th December 2019, 08:27

I voted for my Favorite the Civic and before I clicked on the options I new the majority would vote for the Seltos.

Well good for Kia, I wish them the best and I hope they do well in India though on a personal front having burned my fingers with their sister company I would always be biased against the Korean companies.

PNTLovesNano · 7th December 2019, 08:28

My vote is for Renault Triber. What a beauty the little monster is. I had booked it, and if it was not the underpowered 1-liter engine, it would be in my garage today. I see that Kia Seltos has taken a head-start and might end up a winner, but that's fine. I am going by my heart and not the trend.

Dopamine · 7th December 2019, 08:29

I'm a big supporter of the Harrier and a fan of the Civic, but the winner has to be the Seltos for the simple fact that just this single car from a brand new manufacturer has dragged said manufacturer into the top 5 spots within a few months of entry of Kia into the market!
If you end up higher than companies like Tata, Toyota and Honda with a single car that also happens to be your first ever car in India, the year does belong to that car.

allinbalance · 7th December 2019, 08:34

Without even a second doubt KIA Seltos is my first and last choice. Apart from the definite points @GTO put up, the other not so obvious reason is that KIA smartly figured out that too many bells and whistles (AKA cloud tech, App controls etc) in our country’s pathetic wireless network is a terrible idea and best tried in future. They also have a very clear timeline driven service network spread, a ready arrangement with Mobis and others for reasonably priced, quickly available spare parts.

To me KIA has done things just right and Seltos deserves to be COTY2019!!

KPR · 7th December 2019, 08:47

My car of 2019 should be Renault Triber. Right from design of the car, pricing the car and positioning it among the Marutis and Hyundais in a refreshing manner, this car has got my vote. Agreed it lacks the build quality, debatable engine choice but it attract customers who are in look out for a car from 5L to 15L budget. I'm not a big fan of SUV after SUV coming into the market almost every quarter and for my eyes every car look the same with exception Jeep Compass. Ironically GC sells well in India now and for that sake not every speed breaker in India is a hill to climb. So Kia Seltos and the likes are ruled out from my voting option. Next close contender for me is Honda Civic for its beautiful sedan design. Kudos to Honda. They can never go wrong with Civic design.

blackbeast · 7th December 2019, 09:01

Before i voted, i knew seltos would be at 1st place and venue could be the 2nd. However, i was surprised at votes for the venue. anyway i voted for the two.

Turbo_anup · 7th December 2019, 09:08

Voted Hyundai Venue.

I was and am still torn in between Venue and its elder cousin - Seltos. But the value proposition, engine options, vehicle size fit for an Indian urban commuter & typical family; coupled with Hyundai's fuss free ownership and majorly "no small niggles" in automatic or Manila transmission - makes this my car of choice.
Of course, now it's thunder has been stolen by Seltos, but I would still go with Venue.

View Poll Results: Which is YOUR car of 2019?
Maruti S-Presso	14	0.51%
Maruti WagonR	16	0.58%
Renault Triber	231	8.40%
Hyundai Grand i10 Nios	13	0.47%
Hyundai Venue	81	2.94%
Mahindra XUV300	73	2.65%
Nissan Kicks	8	0.29%
Kia Seltos	1499	54.49%
MG Hector	115	4.18%
Tata Harrier	431	15.67%
Honda Civic	57	2.07%
Hyundai Kona	130	4.73%
Toyota Camry	22	0.80%
BMW 3-Series	57	2.07%
Audi A6	4	0.15%
Voters: 2751. You may not vote on this poll

6th December 2019, 22:38	#76
PrasannaDhana Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: TRICHY - TN Posts: 2,923 Thanked: 18,377 Times View My Garage	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! Voted for Hyundai Venue Reasons 1. Perfect urban car for the nuclear family- small footprint, looks good, enough space for 4+1 kid 2. Feels nice to be in 3. 1.4 diesel has great driveability 4. Hyundai A.S.S and peace of mind 5. Priced well for what it offers I am sure that Kia Seltos will bag the award this year. One thing I have noticed every year, the car that moderators vote for, gets an edge in votes. It is a request that mods keep their vote a bit secretive (might be voting at the end??). Just my opinion. Last edited by PrasannaDhana : 6th December 2019 at 22:45.
	(18) Thanks

6th December 2019, 22:45	#77
TheHelix0202 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: BLR Posts: 989 Thanked: 2,629 Times	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! Voted for the BMW 3 Series Reasons: https://www.cardekho.com/india-car-n...45.htm#fromAMP
	() Thanks

6th December 2019, 23:22	#78
VJ05 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Pune Posts: 150 Thanked: 156 Times	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! Seltos it is for me. I have test driven the Diesel AT variant and was quite impressed. Factory dispatches since the launch say a lot. Kia has provided the Template to other manufacturer's intent to launch in India, it's another matter although that Devil lies in Execution.
	() Thanks

6th December 2019, 23:24	#79
Ranabegins BHPian Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Patna Posts: 89 Thanked: 184 Times	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! Voted for Renault Triber and the logic behind this is that this is truly new product and is a segment in itself. A lot of 7 seaters rarely get used as a 7 seater and it would be great if every one gave sliding seats and the option to remove the last row when more luggage needs to be carried. This car is truly creative.
	(3) Thanks

7th December 2019, 00:45	#80
landcruiser123 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 2,986 Thanked: 6,859 Times	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! Hector it is for me. Not too surprised seeing how successful the Kia Seltos is considering they could leverage Hyundai's knowledge and experience. The Hector was always a dark-horse. Driving dynamics aside, the car really doesn't have too many faults. Tata doesn't seem to have learnt their lessons with the Aria-Hexa re-engineering. They should have come with a properly finished Harrier with a great automatic transmission. Last edited by BlackPearl : 7th December 2019 at 05:26. Reason: Rectified Hectos to Hector
	(1) Thanks

7th December 2019, 00:50	#81
XRoader_001 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Patiala Posts: 390 Thanked: 1,963 Times View My Garage	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! Voted for Kia Seltos its got everything going for it from all powertrains available, right from the launch be it petrol, diesel, turbo or the automatic and that too with Bs6 compliance, even before the Bs6 deadline. Seltos is a well packaged product above all being an SUV it garnered superb response from the Indian car market. Kia Motors, besides receiving 86,840 bookings till date has also sold over 40,000 units of Seltos since its launch in August 2019. Thus, making a grand entry into the Indian car scene, Kia Motors India was placed at Fourth Spot with a market share of 5.3% in Nov 2019 within four month of it's sales operation, which is higher than that of Toyota, Tata, Honda, Renault, Ford, VW that too with one Car offering only. In Nov 2019, Kia motors dispatched 14k units of Seltos while it's true that one model isn't sufficient to remain viable in a market like India which is highly price-sensitive, complex and has been dominated by one player from the last 37 years, of course we know the name isn't it, In short Kia Seltos Or Creta killer as some may like to call it. Kia along with Hyundai are the only two likely cousins which can take on the mighty Maruti Suzuki in the Indian car market. Last edited by XRoader_001 : 7th December 2019 at 00:55.
	() Thanks

7th December 2019, 01:00	#82
Samba Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Kolkata Posts: 2,199 Thanked: 26,471 Times View My Garage	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! Going by brain, the undisputed winner is the Seltos & its the most deserving too. But by taking the decision by heart over brain, i voted for the Civic! In the 20L bracket, almost every manufacturer is giving us a Crossover/Suv/Muv. But none bothered to give a 4wd even as an option! I agree, these are very practical cars on the Indian road, but somewhere we are losing the fun factor of a sedan or the ruggedness of a butch Suv! Among the new launches, the Civic feels like a fresh air! One might say Camry, 3 series and the A6 are in the voting list too. Voted for the Civic as those are simply way above the reach of most of the Indian buyers! This doesn't mean the Civic comes cheap, but as i mentioned earlier about the 20L bracket! A manual Civic petrol would have been the icing on the cake!
	(3) Thanks

7th December 2019, 08:13	#83
motorworks Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,805 Thanked: 4,076 Times View My Garage	Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019 Every year my vote has always been to the car that has been segment defining in some aspect or the other. Purely by that logic, it should be the Triber this year, and many folks have also voiced out the same opinion. However, Im also concerned about how the Triber will eventually fare in safety standards, especially the last row of seats where the passengers are literally touching the rear windshield. No doubt, the crash test is yet to be done and also that is one common way to asses the basic safety of cars, and we need to wait for the same before making any decisions about the Triber. Hence there lies an apprehension about the Triber with regard to the safety, and that is probably why I chose not to vote for the Triber. Seltos, a clear favourite in our forum, does not define anything new in the segment. Its basically a much better version of the Creta in every way. But one true standout point is the sheer number of engine and gear box combinations, which is unmatched by anyone out there. Plus all reviews point to a fairly all round performance, nothing major to dislike about, and it ticks all boxes, almost. I think the Seltos is going to be what the Creta was, and would be the benchmark for the executive car in India for a long time to come, probably the only real competition could come in the form of the 2020 Creta. Well done Kia! This is a firecracker of a start! Last edited by motorworks : 7th December 2019 at 08:14.
	() Thanks

7th December 2019, 08:27	#84
sumeethaldankar Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Mumbai Posts: 3,937 Thanked: 3,318 Times View My Garage	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! I voted for my Favorite the Civic and before I clicked on the options I new the majority would vote for the Seltos. Well good for Kia, I wish them the best and I hope they do well in India though on a personal front having burned my fingers with their sister company I would always be biased against the Korean companies.
	() Thanks

7th December 2019, 08:28	#85
PNTLovesNano BHPian Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Bangalore Posts: 215 Thanked: 200 Times	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! My vote is for Renault Triber. What a beauty the little monster is. I had booked it, and if it was not the underpowered 1-liter engine, it would be in my garage today. I see that Kia Seltos has taken a head-start and might end up a winner, but that's fine. I am going by my heart and not the trend.
	(3) Thanks

7th December 2019, 08:29	#86
Dopamine BHPian Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Dshala/Doon Posts: 46 Thanked: 45 Times	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! I'm a big supporter of the Harrier and a fan of the Civic, but the winner has to be the Seltos for the simple fact that just this single car from a brand new manufacturer has dragged said manufacturer into the top 5 spots within a few months of entry of Kia into the market! If you end up higher than companies like Tata, Toyota and Honda with a single car that also happens to be your first ever car in India, the year does belong to that car. Last edited by Dopamine : 7th December 2019 at 08:34.
	() Thanks

7th December 2019, 08:34	#87
allinbalance BHPian Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 111 Thanked: 145 Times	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! Without even a second doubt KIA Seltos is my first and last choice. Apart from the definite points @GTO put up, the other not so obvious reason is that KIA smartly figured out that too many bells and whistles (AKA cloud tech, App controls etc) in our country’s pathetic wireless network is a terrible idea and best tried in future. They also have a very clear timeline driven service network spread, a ready arrangement with Mobis and others for reasonably priced, quickly available spare parts. To me KIA has done things just right and Seltos deserves to be COTY2019!! Last edited by allinbalance : 7th December 2019 at 08:35. Reason: Typo correction
	() Thanks

7th December 2019, 08:47	#88
KPR BANNED Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Dholakpur Posts: 828 Thanked: 2,529 Times	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! My car of 2019 should be Renault Triber. Right from design of the car, pricing the car and positioning it among the Marutis and Hyundais in a refreshing manner, this car has got my vote. Agreed it lacks the build quality, debatable engine choice but it attract customers who are in look out for a car from 5L to 15L budget. I'm not a big fan of SUV after SUV coming into the market almost every quarter and for my eyes every car look the same with exception Jeep Compass. Ironically GC sells well in India now and for that sake not every speed breaker in India is a hill to climb. So Kia Seltos and the likes are ruled out from my voting option. Next close contender for me is Honda Civic for its beautiful sedan design. Kudos to Honda. They can never go wrong with Civic design. Last edited by KPR : 7th December 2019 at 08:55.
	(3) Thanks

7th December 2019, 09:01	#89
blackbeast BHPian Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 349 Thanked: 161 Times	re: Team-BHP Car of the Year, 2019. EDIT: It's the Kia Seltos! Before i voted, i knew seltos would be at 1st place and venue could be the 2nd. However, i was surprised at votes for the venue. anyway i voted for the two.
	() Thanks

7th December 2019, 09:08	#90
Turbo_anup BHPian Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Delhi / Dublin Posts: 97 Thanked: 178 Times	Voted Hyundai Venue. I was and am still torn in between Venue and its elder cousin - Seltos. But the value proposition, engine options, vehicle size fit for an Indian urban commuter & typical family; coupled with Hyundai's fuss free ownership and majorly "no small niggles" in automatic or Manila transmission - makes this my car of choice. Of course, now it's thunder has been stolen by Seltos, but I would still go with Venue.
	() Thanks