After three days of gruelling testing at the BIC by the autoX (www.autox.com) team of experienced road testers – wherein they rate each machine out of a total score of 100 for quality, practicality, drivetrain, design, value-for-money, ride-and-handling, and much more – the winners have finally been crowned.
Check out the ‘Best of 2021’ microsite for all the details of the contenders and winners: autox.com/best-of-2021
And, drumroll please, the winners are:
In the 4W category:
-BMW M340i xDrive
-Mercedes-Benz S-Class
-Mahindra XUV700
-Tata Punch
-Volkswagen Taigun
In the 2W category:
-Suzuki Hayabusa
-Royal Enfield Classic 350
-Ather 450X
Performance Car of the Year: Aston Martin DBX
And, rounding out the top ten, is the Performance Bike of the Year: the Ducati Streetfighter V4 S.
The BMW M340i is one of the most entertaining machines on the market, while the Mercedes Benz S-Class epitomizes its ‘Best Car in the World’ title. The Mahindra XUV700 and Tata Punch prove that Indian manufacturers can develop truly world-beating products, while the VW Taigun demonstrates the inherent brilliance of German engineering.
On the two-wheel front, Suzuki and Royal Enfield both resurrect a legend each – the Hayabusa and Classic 350 respectively, while the Ather 450X becomes the first EV to claim an autoX award – which is only fitting, as it’s designed, built and engineered in India.
What does an electric future look like?
At the award ceremony, autoX Editor-in-Chief, Dhruv Behl, sat down with all the winners to see what they had to say about a challenging year gone by and a hopeful one that lies ahead.
Of course, electrification was a hot topic. Ashish Gupta, Brand Director, VW India, accepted the award for the VW Taigun, and said, “In the next 5-6 years, 10-15% of the Indian market would be electrified. And that would be when it becomes viable for us to enter this segment.”
Meanwhile, Vivek Srivatsa, Head – Marketing, Passenger Cars, Tata Motors, accepting the award for the Tata Punch, felt that the manner in which EV develops will have an impact on how the diesel segment evolves in the Indian market going forward.
Vikram Pawah, President & CEO, BMW Group India, accepting the award for the BMW M340i xDrive assured us that Joy is at the core of BMW. And that is something we’ll never forget. No matter what drivetrain it is.
On the two-wheel front as well, the established players have to consider what an electric future looks like. Ducati, for instance, will be the electric bike supplier to the Moto E Series. Bipul Chandra, MD, Ducati India, accepting the award for the Performance Bike of the Year, the Ducati Streetfighter V2, said, “Our Panigale family draws very heavily from the Moto GP experience. So, I’m sure that future bikes will come from the experience garnered in the Moto E Championship.”
Devashish Handa, VP, Sales, Marketing & After Sales, Suzuki Motorcycle India, accepting the award for the Suzuki Hayabusa, would prefer to first see how the electric ecosystem takes shape. “The challenge for us is not so much to develop an EV, but we would like to see how the charging infrastructure develops.”
The only EV to win an award was the Ather 450X. Tarun Mehta, Co-founder and CEO, Ather Energy, said, “Really happy to receive this award. This is a great encouragement for us to continue making electric scooters like the 450X and keep delivering a delightful ownership experience.”
Meanwhile, Harish Lalchandani, Vice President – Marketing, Mahindra Auto, accepting the award for the Mahindra XUV 700, pointed out that Mahindra already has a strong line-up of EVs in the LMM (Last-Mile Mobility) segment and will be launching 16 EVs by 2027 – 8 passenger vehicles and 8 commercial vehicles.
These views, and more, are available with the full interviews at autox.com/best-of-2021.
(Note: This article has been published under Brand Connect Initiative)