IndianAuto – Car and Motorcycle Of The Year Awards 2020

We’ve experienced a very tough year of 2020, wherein the global Covid-19 pandemic adversely impacted almost every sphere of our lives. The Indian automotive sector has not been an exceptions. However, the difficulties and uncertainties caused by the health crisis couldn’t discourage the car and motorcycle makers from launching a host of brilliant new products last year. In 2020, we saw a handful of new cars and motorcycles being introduced to the Indian car and bike enthusiasts. While the year 2021 has freshly started, let’s take a look back with IndianAuto and salute all the cars and motorcycles manufacturers for their great efforts. Based on both our internal assessment and audience polls, our IndianAuto and IndianAutosBlog Awards video brings to you a look at the best from last year-

Premium Car and Motorcycle of The Year 2020

Premium Car of The Year – Mercedes-Benz EQC

Like any other segment, the premium car and motorcycle segments in India were also seriously affected by the virus outbreak and countrywide lockdown. More than that, the segment of premium EVs in India has been confronted with unfavourable conditions like inadequate infrastructure and high production costs long before. However, all these obstacles didn't stop the German auto giant, Mercedes-Benz from introducing its all-electric EQC SUV in the Indian market. The Mercedes-Benz EQC comes off as the very first pure-electric luxury SUV in our country. Based on the Mercedes-Benz GLC, the EQC manages to impress us with a completely different driving experience as compared to the standard ICE counterpart. The Mercedes-Benz EQC is capable of sprinting to 100 kmph from a standstill in just 5.1 seconds and gets the claimed range of around 400 km, thereby setting a new benchmark for all upcoming luxury EVs that want to join the game in times to come. The Mercedes-Benz EQC emerges as the winner of our Premium Car of The Year 2020 title.

Premium Motorcycle of The Year – Triumph Tiger 900

The Premium Motorcycle of The Year award belongs to the new Triumph Tiger 900 which is a replacement of the outgoing Triumph Tiger 800 range. Notably, the new Triumph Tiger 900 bears a striking difference from the Tiger 800 model, thanks to the revised styling and bigger engine options. The Tiger 900 employs a completely new chassis and updated electronics package, lending a much easier driving experience to the driver. Considering the popularity of ADVs in recent days, the Triumph Tiger 900 was essentially the Premium Motorcycle of the Year 2020.

People’s Choice Awards – Car and Bike of The Year 2020

As you may know, IndianAuto had carried out a public poll on our website where auto enthusiasts could vote for their favourite vehicles. As per the results, it’s the Kia Sonet that achieves the first spot with around 16% of the total votes. The Kia Sonet has quickly garnered a huge band of fan-followers in India, which can be seen in its decent sales figure every month.

In fact, in November and December 2020, the Kia Sonet outsold its competitors to become one of the best-selling cars in the market. The Kia Sonet comes with a very compelling package. It comes with a smart look on the outside along with a plethora of features on the inside. Not just that, the Kia Sonet also offers a wide range of engine and transmission options that make various variants for the customers to choose from. You can refer to our detailed review of Kia Sonet for further information.

By securing 23.17% of the total votes, the Hero Xtreme 160R becomes the vehicle that wins out People’s Choice – Motorcycle of The Year 2020 award. The Hero Xtreme 160R is no doubts one of the best 150cc motorcycles launched last year. It sports a smart styling combined with decent usability and exciting performance. Given the brand’s strong after-sales network and services, it comes as no surprise the Hero Xtreme 160R pulls the hearts of the Indian motorcycles fanatics.

Jury's Choice Awards - Car and Motorcycle of The Year 2020

It is worth noting that the Jury’s Choice Awards for the Car and Motorcycle of the Year are based on our internal jury comprising of members of IndianAuto.com and IndianAutosBlog. After a period of discussion and evaluations, we decided that the 2020 Hyundai i20 was the one that deeply impressed us. The third-gen Hyundai i20 was launched in early November last year and it actually caused a surge of excitement upon its launch. While the earlier i20 models had been well-received in India, Hyundai did level up the game with largely revised styling, heavily updated cabin and newly-built engine and gearboxes. With the introduction of the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine unit, the Hyundai i20 is finally capable enough to take on the likes of VW Polo TSI when it comes to the outright performance, which is totally impressive then.

The Jury’s Choice Award in the Motorcycle category has been given to the Honda H’ness CB350, which was one of the biggest surprises in 2020, indeed. We rode this motorcycle on many occassions and always were totally impressed with it. Frankly, the Honda H’ness CB350 is actually the first rival of Royal Enfield that holds a lot of substance. The engine should be the major highlight of the H’ness CB350 and we really appreciate the long-stroke one-cylinder engine that it brings in. The price of the Honda H’ness CB350 is on the competitive side, too.

SUV of The Year 2020

Based on our polls and the internal assessment, the most impressive SUV that arrived in 2020 has to be none other than the new Mahindra Thar. There’s no denying the fact that the country’s SUV segment is now flooded with many modern and feature-rich products, but the 2020 Mahindra Thar is a one-of-a-kind contemporary SUV with great off-road capabilities. The new-gen Thar can tackle all kind of terrains and that’s something we appreciate the most. It retains the core strength of being a true-blue off-roader and picks up proper traits you can expect from a modern-day urban SUV. With the revised retro look that carries forward the pedigree of the iconic Willy’s Jeep, the enhanced everyday practicality and usability, upgraded cabin and new features, the new Mahindra Thar becomes our pick for the SUV of the Year 2020.

Car and Motorcycle of The Year 2020

The most prestigious Car and Motorcycle of The Year 2020 Awards from IndianAuto & IndianAutosBlog have been given to the 2020 Hyundai Creta and the Royal Enfield Meteor 350.

In 2020, the new-gen Hyundai Creta created quite a bang in the Indian car market, regardless of the challenges and uncertainties caused by the novel virus. The all-new Creta has been a runaway success of the company and clocks decent sales performance every month, not to mention the modern design, which has been a hot topic among the enthusiasts. The Hyundai Creta is the unrivalled king of the SUV segment when we consider the comfort and convenience on offer, feature-rich interior, drivability along with the value for money quotient. From there, it’s the famed Hyundai Creta that bags our Car of the Year Award 2020.

When talking about the Motorcycle, the name of Royal Enfield Meteor 350 is written in our books as the prestigious Motorcycle of the Year 2020. The Royal Enfield 350 was the most important motorcycle launch we witnessed last year. The Meteor 350 inherits all the good characteristics of a Royal Enfield whilst being more modern, more refined and better built than its predecessors. Without doubts, we thus call out the Royal Enfield Meteor 350 as the best motorcycle of the year 2020.

Here are the top honours of the cars and motorcycles launched in India in 2020. With the new year 2021 already underway, the Indian market will welcome a slew of exciting new cars and motorcycles this year. Stay updated with IndianAuto.com and IndianAutosBlog for the latest from the world of cars and motorcycles.