Ford EcoSport sweeps Bloomberg TV-Autocar Car of the Year Awards 2014

December 23, 2013: Autocar India, Autocar Professional’s sister magazine, held its annual awards on December 20 on the verdant lawns of the Taj Lands End hotel in Mumbai. As usual, captains of the automotive industry were out in full strength, making their presence felt at these prestigious awards which have emerged as the Oscars of the Indian auto sector and highly coveted by industry.

The big winner of the evening was the Ford EcoSport which bagged the automobile industry's most prestigious award – the Bloomberg TV-Autocar Car of the Year 2014 trophy. Apart from the title trophy, the compact SUV also drove away with five other awards including those for the SUV of the Year, Best Value for Money, Viewer's Choice Award (voted for by viewers of the ‘Autocar Show’ on Bloomberg TV), the Engine of the Year for the EcoBoost engine and finally, the Technology & Innovation award for its Sync with Emergency Assist system.

The Bloomberg TV-Autocar Bike of the Year was bagged by the KTM 390 Duke which blends potent performance, decent fuel efficiency and a reasonable price-tag in a winning package.



Speaking at the awards nite, chief guest Union oil minister Veerappa Moily said that diesel prices are likely to be fully deregulated by May-June 2014. He revealed that in light of increasing refining capacity in the country and new finds in the Barmer basin in Rajasthan, India could be looking to fast reducing its oil imports by 2020 and even looking at the potential of self-sufficiency in the sector by 2030.

The Autocar Car of the Year Awards continues a tradition of recognising excellence that dates back to 2002. The awards are the culmination of weeks of behind-the-scenes work. The eight-member jury scrutinised reams of facts, figures and data generated by Autocar India’s satellite-based road testing equipment. The 15 cars and three bikes were then put through a rigorous series of tests to evaluate various parameters. And then auditors from KPMG, who ensured a watertight methodology both in terms of eligibility and judging criteria, tabulated the score sheets to declare the final list of winners.



THE WINNERS LIST

Car of the Year: Ford EcoSport

Bike of the year: KTM 390 Duke

Premium SUV of the year: Mercedes-Benz GL-Class

SUV of the year: Ford EcoSport

Saloon car of the year: Honda Amaze

Compact luxury car of the year: BMW 1-series

Compact car of the year: Hyundai Grand i10.

Engine of the year: Ford EcoBoost

Manufacturer of the year: Honda Cars India

Best driver’s car: BMW 1-series

Viewer's choice car of the year: Ford EcoSport

Viewer's choice bike of the year: Mahindra Centuro

MPV of the year: Chevrolet Enjoy

Performance car of the year: Porsche Cayman S

Import car of the year: Range Rover Sport

Premium bike of the year: Hyosung GV650 Aquila Pro

Import bike of the year: Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R

Best value for money: Ford EcoSport

Green car of the year: Mahindra e2o

Technology & innovation award: Ford Sync with Emergency Assist

Best variant of the year: Audi Q3 S

Best design and styling: Mercedes-Benz A-class

Photographs: Joginder Singh, president and MD, Ford India with 6-award-winning EcoSport.

Amit Nandi, head for KTM Motorcycles in India and vice-president, Bajaj Auto, with the Bike of the Year, KTM 390 Duke.