It was one of the largest ever pool of nominees we had this year, and we added some categories, like the Premium SUV of the Year category this time. (see: 2015 nominees http://goo.gl/Q082CN)
The Car space first. Only nominees in categories which have cars below the Rs 30 lakh price point were in the running for NDTV Car of the Year (Entry Hatchback, Premium Hatchback, Subcompact Sedan, Compact Sedan, Midsize Sedan, MUV, Compact SUV/Crossover, SUV, Premium SUV and Entry Premium Car of the Year).
The final scores were tabulated across 7 voting parameters (each juror can score each parameter on a scale of 1-10), and the winners were ascertained based on that tally.
| NDTV Car of the Year Finalists | Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Juror 4 | Juror 5 | Juror 6 | Juror 7 | Juror 8 | Juror 9 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Audi A3 | 50 | 58 | 57 | 58 | 58 | 53 | 54.5 | 55 | 47 | 490.5 |
| 2 | Hyundai i20 | 52 | 51 | 54 | 54 | 47 | 53 | 53.5 | 61 | 49 | 474.5 |
| 3 | Honda Mobilio | 49 | 36 | 50 | 49 | 53 | 48 | 50 | 50 | 47 | 432 |
| 4 | Mahindra Scorpio | 42 | 42 | 53 | 53.5 | 54 | 50 | 46.5 | 47 | 41 | 429 |
| 5 | Maruti Suzuki Ciaz | 45 | 24 | 52 | 52 | 48 | 50 | 51 | 60 | 44 | 426 |
| 6 | Hyundai Xcent | 44 | 37 | 49 | 47.5 | 43 | 49 | 46 | 55 | 43 | 413.5 |
| 7 | Maruti Suzuki Celerio | 38 | 34.5 | 47 | 49.5 | 53 | 53 | 43 | 50 | 39 | 407 |
| 8 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 41 | 25 | 51 | 46 | 53 | 41 | 44.5 | 60 | 43 | 404.5 |
| Color | Juror’s Ranking |
|---|---|
| Highest Rank | |
| Second highest | |
| Third highest |
The cars listed above also indicate the segment winners, with the jury opting not to award in the Compact SUV/Crossover and Midsize Sedan segments, as the sole nominees there didn’t seem to do enough to justify an award. I was particularly heartened that our jury took the bold decision to award what it truly considered the best car – with no inhibitions, or thought to how it ‘should be done’. Hence the Audi A3 won on pure merit, and the table above shows, it was a clear winner for 6 of the 9 jurors, and was second highest for 2. The Hyundai i20 was the fierce rival with very high scores from all jurors, getting 4 highest and 4 second highest votes. And the Honda Mobilio was the surprise of the pack, beating strong contenders like the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and Hyundai Xcent to take the 3rd spot.
But now I want to take you through how these scores were arrived at. And this is where things get interesting. The value of voting across parameters is well manifested in the chart below. Here you can clearly see how a product doesn’t just get an overall score, which may have a juror not think about certain USPs or strengths, but instead provides a very comprehensive picture of each juror’s assessment. Look at the few expected and few surprising positions below.
| NDTV Car of the Year Finalists | Overall Merit/USP | Value For Money | Safety | Environment | Significance To Segment | Emotional Appeal | Performance & Handling | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audi A3 | 69 | 60.5 | 82 | 68.5 | 72.5 | 65 | 73 | 490.5 |
| Hyundai i20 | 73 | 70 | 63 | 68 | 73 | 66.5 | 61 | 474.5 |
| Honda Mobilio | 62.5 | 68.5 | 60 | 61.5 | 70 | 52.5 | 57 | 432 |
| Mahindra Scorpio | 66.5 | 67 | 63 | 55 | 67.5 | 55.5 | 54.5 | 429 |
| Maruti Suzuki Ciaz | 64 | 66.5 | 56.5 | 60 | 66 | 58 | 55 | 426 |
| Hyundai Xcent | 59.5 | 73 | 56 | 65 | 67 | 44 | 49 | 413.5 |
| Maruti Suzuki Celerio | 64.5 | 73 | 44 | 68.5 | 72 | 38 | 47 | 407 |
| Hyundai Santa Fe | 59 | 51 | 70.5 | 50.5 | 59 | 54 | 60.5 | 404.5 |
| Color | Juror’s Ranking |
|---|---|
| Highest Rank | |
| Second highest | |
| Third highest |
On Value For Money it is not surprising to see the Maruti-Suzuki Celerio and Hyundai Xcent top the list. But the i20 also scored well here, despite being a fully-loaded premium hatch. On Safety the surprise was the second spot to the Santa Fe with its dual front & curtain airbags, ABS, EBD, Rollover sensor, Stability management and Isofix for child seats, all being noticed and applauded. The Audi A3 of course won the safety, environment and performance & handling parameters with ease. But the Hyundai i20 pipped it in Significance to Segment. That is a crucial area that helps the juror compare the car in question to its own peers rather than other nominees. The i20 also won on emotional appeal, which is why it wasn’t surprising it also went on to win the Design of the Year award.
Now on to the Two Wheelers! Here too it was a mixed bag. It is motorcycles and scooters up to 1000cc that are in consideration here, with the niche high-displacement bikes not in contention. The real fight here came down to 3 players. And all were very strong indeed. It is great to see scooters becoming so relevant again. After we had our first Viewers’ Choice Two Wheeler going to the TVS Jupiter last year, the Honda Activa 125 fared very well in the jury awards this time around. Not only did it win Scooter of the Year, but as you can see tied in 3rd place overall with the very capable KTM RC 200. The RC 390 was a whisker behind in 4th place – just 0.5 points behind! The Harley-Davidson Street 750 was a strong nominee, as the company’s first product made outside the US, and available at a more affordable price point than its usual portfolio. The chart shows how it got a consistent 2nd highest ranking from all but one juror. Eventually only 14 points separated it from the Suzuki Gixxer which got 4 highest ranks.
| NDTV Two-Wheeler of the Year Finalists | Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Juror 4 | Juror 5 | Juror 6 | Total Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Suzuki Gixxer | 46 | 53 | 56.5 | 55 | 44 | 62 | 316.5 |
| 2 | Harley-Davidson Street 750 | 49 | 52 | 55.5 | 55 | 36 | 55 | 302.5 |
| 3 | Honda Activa 125 | 51 | 41 | 49.5 | 51 | 39 | 52 | 283.5 |
| 3 | KTM RC 200 | 46 | 43 | 43.5 | 54 | 43 | 54 | 283.5 |
| 4 | KTM RC 390 | 45 | 39 | 47 | 59 | 39 | 54 | 283 |
| 5 | TVS Star City+ | 43 | 38 | 39 | 50 | 44 | 62 | 276 |
| Color | Juror’s Ranking |
|---|---|
| Highest Rank | |
| Second highest | |
| Third highest |
Now a look at the break-up by parameter, and again it is a very interesting picture. Lots of red below for the Suzuki Gixxer indicates that it rated very high on several parameters for the jury. It also just barely missed being number one in Significance to Segment and Performance & Handling. It was also heartening to see how Harley-Davidson’s efforts with its brand new strategy with the Street 750 bore fruit with it topping the Value For Money charts! It also tied with the Gixxer on Safety. Despite the Gixxer and the Street staying ahead of the KTM RC 390 on Emotional Appeal, the latter won the Design of the Year award! And the Honda Activa was in a 3-way tie on Environment with the Gixxer and TVS Star City+ given their high fuel efficiency claims.
| NDTV Two-Wheeler of the Year Finalists | Overall Merit/USP | Value For Money | Safety | Environment | Significance To Segment | Emotional Appeal | Performance & Handling | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suzuki Gixxer | 47.5 | 40.5 | 42 | 42 | 47.5 | 48 | 49 | 316.5 |
| Harley-Davidson Street 750 | 47.5 | 44 | 42 | 31 | 48.5 | 45 | 44.5 | 302.5 |
| Honda Activa 125 | 44 | 39 | 38.5 | 42 | 46.5 | 34 | 39.5 | 283.5 |
| KTM RC 200 | 39.5 | 39 | 39.5 | 34 | 45 | 41 | 45.5 | 283.5 |
| KTM RC 390 | 41 | 33 | 39 | 33 | 43.5 | 44 | 49.5 | 283 |
| TVS Star City+ | 41 | 43 | 36 | 42 | 40 | 35 | 39 | 276 |
| Color | Juror’s Ranking |
|---|---|
| Highest Rank | |
| Second highest | |
| Third highest |
The NDTV Car of the Year & Two Wheeler of the Year awards are both just as important to us as the CNB Viewers’ Choice Car & Two Wheeler of the Year. The latter is of course decided through public voting, and both our winners this time had a clear margin of victory. The Hyundai i20 beat the Honda City, while on the bike side the winner was once again the Suzuki Gixxer.
| CNB Viewers Choice | CNB VC Car of the Year | CNB VC Two Wheeler of the Year |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | Hyundai i20 | Suzuki Gixxer |
| 1st Runner-Up | Honda City | Honda Activa 125 |
| 2nd Runner-Up | Tata Zest | TVS Star City+ |
| 3rd Runner-Up | Maruti Suzuki Ciaz | Bajaj Discover 150F |
| 4th Runner-Up | Honda Mobilio | Vespa S |
| 5th Runner-Up | Fiat Avventura | TVS Scooty Zest |
| 6th Runner-Up | Datsun GO | Mahindra Gusto |
| 7th Runner-Up | – | Hero Splendor iSmart |
| 8th Runner-Up | – | Suzuki Let’s |
