South Korean auto major Hyundai's new i20 was crowned "Indian Car of the Year 2015" (ICOTY) at a glitzy ceremony in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The Elite i20, the newest in the i20 family, was announced as the winner of the title following tough competition from Maruti Ciaz and Honda City. It is not surprising that Elite i20 emerged as the best car of the year as the model has been earning numerous accolades for its new and improved style and design. For Hyundai, this is the second award for the 2nd consecutive year.
ICOTY, which is considered as the Indian automobile industry's highest honours, also celebrated its 10th anniversary this year.
The Jury of ICOTY 2015 included Bob Rupani (Chairman), Yogendra Pratap (Auto Bild), Rahul Ghosh (Auto Bild), Dhruv Behl (Auto X), Arup Das (Auto X), Rohin Nagrani (Motoring World), Kartik Ware (Motoring World), Aspi Bhathena (Car India), Aninda Sardar (Car India), Bertrand D'souza (Overdrive), Halley Prabhakar (Overdrive), Girish Karkera (BBC Top Gear), Murali Menon (BBC Top Gear), Sirish Chandran (Evo India), Ouseph Chacko (Evo India) and Muralidhar Swaminathan (The Hindu Business Line), as reported by The Hindu Businessline.
Launched in August, Hyundai Elite i20 has crossed over 56,000 booking in the country within four months. Underneath the skin, the Elite i20 packs 1.2 litre petrol engine and 1.4 litre CRDi diesel motor. While the petrol engine of Elite i20 can churn out 83ps of power and peak torque of 114nm, the diesel motor is tuned to generate 90ps of power and peak torque of 220nm.
On the safety front, the new i20 offers Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), four-passenger airbags and reverse-parking camera. Other features include multi-steering mounted audio controls, Bluetooth integrated 2 Din audio with USB and Aux-in and 1GB internal storage, rear AC vents, push start-stop button and automatic temperature control.
Apart from Elite i20 Harley Davidson Street 750, which was touted as the most affordable bike from the iconic bike maker has been named as "Indian Motorcycle of the Year" (IMOTY).
