India’s indigenous people’s car, the Tata Nano, is the 2009 Economic Times ZigWheels Car of the Year. Facing competition from other spanking new and larger cars (including the Mahindra Xylo, the Fiat Grande Punto, the Toyota Fortuner and the Mercedes-Benz E-class to name but a handful), the Tata Nano came out on tops not only for its revolutionary rethinking of design, but more so for its relevance to an India waking up to the romance of the automobile, and the space that the car has managed to create for itself not just in its country of origin but also internationally.
The recently launched Bajaj Pulsar 135LS has been adjudged the 2009 ET-ZigWheels Bike of the Year. In a lukewarm year for new motorcycle launches, the Pulsar scored massively thanks to its marriage of practicality, ease of use and the new sport-light class it attempts to establish by offering all the fun that motorcycles stand for.
The judging took place at the ZigWheels editorial headquarters in Pune after two days of rigorous testing involving the all-new cars and bikes launched between December 15, 2008 and December 15, 2009. A total of 37 cars and 12 bikes were driven, ridden and evaluated by the jury, headed by ZigWheels Editor-in-chief Adil Jal Darukhanawala.
The judging took place in two rounds, the first of which had vehicles from their respective categories go up against one another. This was to ensure that vehicles from the now widely available strata ranging from ultra-low cost cars to the ultra-luxurious ones did not face off at the first instant, but instead battled on the common grounds of their own category. Cars and bikes in each category were looked at for their overall design and packaging, their advances in creature comforts and occupant well-being and safety, the mechanicals and associated performance, the dynamic ability of the vehicle. The price point of the vehicle and its relevance to that particular category were also looked with a keen eye. The first round threw up some interesting in-class results, and the category awards were decided not only on the basis of the how well the cars and bikes delivered vis-à-vis the expectations from that particular category, but also the impact they promised to have on their peers and the market in general.
In the second round, respective winners from their categories were thrown into the ring to decide the single outstanding car and bike of 2009. Members of the jury were asked to distribute the 25 points allotted to them between the eight cars and five motorcycles that had topped their classes. The wide disparity between the category winners made this quite a task for the jury, but the final verdict was decided based on not just the quality and relevance of the machines, but more importantly by considering how much further that particular car or bike will take the cause of the Indian automotive industry and the consumer base it caters to.
“The smallest car took the biggest award on the Indian automotive scene thanks to a great idea which was uniquely attempted and well executed,” said Adil Jal Darukhanawala, Editor-in-chief of ET-ZigWheels. “From being resilient enough not to respond to wayward criticism during the concept stage and right through to its production unveiling, the boffins and the management at Tata Motors have quite clearly exhibited pioneering skills which surely make the Tata Nano the right car for the masses in the 21st century. Simple yet effective, the Nano represents the more from less mantra is the way forward for a people’s car in the 21st century.”
Delivering his rationale behind the Bajaj Pulsar 135LS taking top honours in the two-wheeler category, Darukhanawala said: “This bike represents yet another step up to improving the present breed of Indian motorcycles. A small displacement stylish commuter with performance akin to bikes of a class higher is an irresistible cocktail concocted by an all Indian team. We are all sure that the ideas factory which the Pulsar range has rolled out will be the spearhead for Indian motorcycling to come in the next decade.”
What was a very important aspect which played out in a most telling manner was also the fact that this year Indian designed and built vehicles from Indian OEMs took the overall honours. The Nano and the Pulsar 135LS were joined by the Mahindra Xylo which took the MPV of the Year Award and this augurs well as our OEMs get up to speed with trying to offer as many cost effective, robust and reliable automobiles built to the unique needs of our consumers.
The ET-ZigWheels Car Maker of the Year Award 2009 went to Tata Motors which displayed uncanny resilience, steely nerves and unimpeachable dedication to not just getting the Tata Nano project shifted and underway at a makeshift facility but the firm also kept plugging away with a host of initiatives. These resulted not just in the Indigo Manza, the new Xenon lifestyle pick-up and the Sumo Grande Mk II but also the Tata World Truck and of course Jaguar Land-Rover. Other car makers may have had larger sales and production volumes, even more profits but in a turbulent year faced by Indian industry, Tata Motors displayed a rare silent approach which saw their efforts speak the loudest.
Hero Honda was adjudged the ET-ZigWheels Bike Maker of the Year 2009 even though it had just one new launch to its name in the year under review. For a company setting the pace in absolute numbers produced and sold, it could be very easy to take the eye off the big ball but Hero Honda remained on song to delivering manna for the masses at the base of the pyramid.
ZigWheels also made use of the wide variety of media under the Times Group to ensure that opinions regarding the awards came from and reached the largest possible audience base. The ZigWheels.com Viewers Choice opinion poll garnered massive response, and the reader-surfers adjudged the Tata Nano as their favourite car. The Viewers Choice Bike of the Year award went to the handsome Royal Enfield Bullet Classic.
CAR CATEGORY SEGMENT WINNERS
Entry level Mini-Car of the Year
Tata Nano – WINNER
Premium Hatchback of the Year
Fiat Grande Punto (Petrol & Diesel) WINNER
Honda Jazz 1.2
Hyundai i20 (1.2 & 1.4 petrol and 1.4 diesel)
Suzuki Ritz (petrol and diesel)
Entry level Sedan of the Year
Tata Indigo Manza WINNER
Fiat Linea
Mid-size sedan of the year
Chevrolet Cruze WINNER
Executive Sedan of the Year
Skoda Superb (petrol and diesel) WINNER
Luxury Prestige Sedan of the Year
Mercedes-Benz E-class WINNER
MPV of the Year
Mahindra Xylo WINNER
SUV of the Year
Toyota Fortuner WINNER
Tata Xenon
Premier Rio
CBU Import of the Year
Audi Q5
Audi R8
BMW 6-series
BMW X6
BMW Z4 WINNER
Jaguar XF & XF-R
Jaguar XK and XK-R
Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV
Land Rover Discovery
Land Rover Freelander 2
Range Rover Sport
Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG
Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG
Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG
Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG
Porsche Panamera
Rolls-Royce Ghost
Toyota Land Cruiser V8
BIKE CATEGORY SEGMENT WINNERS
Scooter of the Year
Honda Activa 110 WINNER
Mahindra Duro
100cc Bike of the Year
Bajaj Discover 100 DTS-Si WINNER
150cc Bike of the Year
Bajaj XCD135 DTS-Si
Bajaj Pulsar 135 DTSi WINNER
TVS Flame SR125
250cc Bike of the Year
Bajaj Kawasaki Ninja 250 WINNER
Hero Honda Karizma ZMR
Bike of the Year above 251cc
Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Classic WINNER
CBU Superbike of the Year
Honda CB1000R Hornet
Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade
Yamaha VMAX WINNER
Special Awards in the CAR segment
Design of the Year – TATA NANO
Best Fun-to-Drive Car of the Year – SKODA SUPERB
Most Value-for-Money Car of the Year – TATA NANO
Automotive Idea of the Year – CARNATION AUTO
Special Awards in the BIKE segment
Technology of the Year –BAJAJ PULSAR 135LS 4-VALVE CYLINDER HEAD
Most Value-for-Money Bike of the Year – BAJAJ DISCOVER 100 DTS-Si
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