Captains of the Indian automotive industry were out in force at the Bloomberg-UTV Autocar Awards evening, held on January 13 at the Taj Lands End in Mumbai. These prestigious awards have emerged as the Oscars of the Indian auto sector and are highly coveted by the industry.
The big winner of the evening was the new Maruti Swift which drove away with the Car of the Year 2012 award, in the face of stiff competition. Meanwhile, the Honda CBR250R bagged the Bike of the Year award. These awards are decided by a distinguished jury which comprises Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India and Autocar Professional; Shapur Kotwal, deputy editor, Autocar India; Rishad Cooper, two-wheeler editor, Autocar India; car designer Dilip Chhabria; automotive historian Manvendra Singh; Renuka Kirpalani, editor - Autocar Show; Kartikeya Singhee, anchor – Autocar Show; Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan; Rajeev Khanna, veteran rallyist; and Dilip Roggers, India’s first motorcycle racer.
The Swift, which had earlier won the COTY in 2005, is a grounds-up new-generation model based on an all-new platform and is now both longer and wider. The Swift’s interior styling, which is heavily borrowed from its Kizashi sibling, is now plusher. The jury felt that the car is now sportier to drive and the 1.2 K-series petrol gets variable valve timing (VVT) to increase power to 86bhp. The 74bhp 1.3 Multijet diesel engine remains largely unchanged but the carmaker’s effort to make the cabin a quieter place is evident. The jury said that Maruti Suzuki has taken an already good car and made it even better by ironing out the flaws in the older car.
As regards the Bike of the Year, the jury was of the opinion that the Honda CBR250R offers great styling, zippy performance, street-friendly handling with an affordable price tag.
There were a total of 22 awards, including the Man of the Year award to Pawan Goenka, president, Mahindra & Mahindra.
HONOURS LIST
• Car of the Year – Maruti Suzuki Swift
• Bike of the Year – Honda CBR250R
• Compact Car of the Year – Maruti Suzuki Swift
• Midsize Saloon of the Year – Skoda Rapid
• SUV of the Year – Mahindra XUV500
• Man of the Year – Pawan Goenka
• Best Styling & Design – Hyundai Verna
• Best Value for Money – Mahindra XUV500
• Best Variant of the Year – Chevrolet Beat Diesel
• Best Driver's car – Ford Fiesta
• Manufacturer of the Year – Toyota
• Technology and Innovation award – Audi A8
• Sub-compact car of the Year – Honda Brio
• Best Executive Saloon of the Year – VW Jetta
• Luxury Saloon of the Year – Audi A6
• Luxury SUV of the Year – BMW X3
• Best Automobile Ad of the Year – Volkswagen Jetta 'Flyboy'
• Premium Bike of the Year – Kawasaki Ninja 650R
• Import Bike of the Year – BMW K 1600 GTL
• Green Car Award – VW Passat for BlueMotion technology
• Viewer's choice award (car) – Mahindra XUV500
• Viewer's choice award (bike) – Honda CBR250R