- Mahindra XUV700 wins the 17th edition of the Indian Car of the Year award
- Volkswagen Taigun and Tata Punch emerge as the first and second runner-up, respectively
The results are out for the 17th edition of the Indian Car of the Year 2022 (ICOTY 2022). The 11 shortlisted contenders were analysed in various parameters such as comfort, reliability, design, driving appeal, fuel efficiency, and value for money proposition. Based on the pointer system, the Mahindra XUV700 has won the coveted title of Indian Car of the Year 2022 with 101 points. The Volkswagen Taigun has emerged first runner-up with 89 points, followed by Tata Punch as the second runner-up with 71 points.
For the uninitiated, the shortlisted contenders were Citroen C5 Aircross, Force Gurkha, Mahindra XUV700, Maruti Suzuki Celerio, MG Astor, Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger, Skoda Kushaq, Skoda Octavia, Tata Punch, and Volkswagen Taigun. Mahindra XUV700 had been drawing a lot of interest right from the day it was first unveiled in the country. The bookings for the XUV700 commenced on 7 October, 2021 and had accumulated one lakh bookings in just four months. The SUV is available in MX Series and AX Series. To read more about the XUV700 in detail, click here.
The ICOTY jury this year comprises of Yogendra Pratap and Rahul Ghosh from Auto Today, Dhruv Bhel and Ishan Raghava from autoX, Aspi Bhathena and Sarmad Kadri from Car India, Sirish Chandran and Aniruddha Rangnekar from evo, Kartik Ware and Pablo Chatterjee from Motoring World, Bertrand DSouza and Bob Rupani from Overdrive, Murlidhar S from the Hindu, Kranti Sambhav and Girish Karkera from the Times Group, Ashish Jha from Outlook, and Vikrant Singh from CarWale. Now even though quite a few cars were launched in 2021, the said jury shortlisted the strongest contenders for the jury round.
Mechanically, the MX Series is available in both petrol and diesel engine options. The petrol version gets a 2.0-litre Turbo GDi mStallion engine that produces 195bhp at 5,000rpm and 380Nm of torque between 1,750rpm and 3,000rpm. The diesel version gets a 2.2-litre Commonrail Turbo diesel mHawk engine that generates 153bhp at 3,750rpm and 360Nm of torque between 1,500 – 2,800rpm. Both engines are mated to a six-speed manual transmission.
On the other hand, the AX Series is also available in both petrol and diesel engine (available in different tune) options. The petrol engine is shared with the MX Series, however, the MX Series also offers an automatic option. The diesel version is powered by a 2.2-litre Commonrail Turbo diesel mHawk engine which generates 182bhp at 3,500rpm. The manual transmission unit of this engine produces 420Nm of torque between 1,600 – 2,800rpm, while the automatic option generates 450Nm between 1,750 – 2,800rpm.
