A few weeks back we asked all our readers to participate in the Motoroids Car of the Year Awards 2016 – a one of a kind motoring award, which allows readers to vote for as many as five cars of their choice. The liberty to choose five cars allows the voters to choose their favourite cars from various segments, not constricting them to one choice and helping create a bigger picture, where we know which products users like and appreciate across a range of segments and price points.
Our efforts to discover the best products across a variety of price brackets and product segments paid off, and some really expensive and premium machine received a healthy number of votes showing the audience’s great liking for them. Apart from choosing their favourite products from the mass market, the readers at Motoroids enthusiastically chose their favourite premium and performance cars allowing us to have an insight into which cars they would buy if they had the money. Some of the results were in line with our expectations, while some others were totally surprising, and indicated the deep understanding and knowledge our readers have about automobiles, as they voted for car models which aren’t the most identifiable or popular, but have their own USP’s which aren’t matched by some other more common marquees.
A total of 17235 voters participated in the Motoroids Car of the Year Awards 2016 with a total of 54289 votes having been cast. Here we have the key findings from the polls, and exercise which can also qualify as one of the most exhaustive surveys on which brands and models were the most popular among our readers for the year gone by
Motoroids Car of the Year 2016
Winner : Hyundai Creta
To start with, the Hyundai Creta took home the most coveted Motoroids Car of the Year 2016 Award with authority, hogging the attention of as many as 33% of the total voters. Even with its slightly premium pricing, it seems like people absolutely love the Hyundai Creta, and handed it the trophy with an overwhelming majority
First runner-up : Renault Kwid
In the second position is Renault’s small wonder, the Kwid, which has shown this market that the A-segment, one of the mainstays of market leader Maruti Suzuki can be shaken and stirred if the product offering is right. Thanks to the way shown by the Kwid, we can expect more such well-styled, well-priced small cars from more carmakers in the years to come. The first time car buyer is in for a treat, thanks to this fantastic little machine. The Kwid received 4,795 Votes gaining favour from a solid 28% of the voters.
Second runner-up : Maruti Suzuki Baleno
How can a popular Car of the Year Top 3 list be complete in India without a Maruti Suzuki product in it? The Indian carmaker still has the secret sauce and it has used it yet again in the Baleno. The premium hatch is selling in crazy numbers, and its popularity is reflected in the Motoroids Car of the Year polls as well. The new Maruti Suzuki Baleno got 3,798 total votes, and 22% of the voters chose it as one of the options in their Car of the Year.
Performance Car of the Year
Now that’s the beauty of the Motoroids Awards. Since the voters have the option to choose as many as five cars, they always keep 2 to 3 of their votes for their favourite premium / performance cars. These are the cars which they may not be able to afford today, but would put their money on first if they turned the lucky winners of a big lottery. Here’s what makes the top 3 list
Winner: BMW i8
The BMW i8 not only wins the Motoroids Performance Car of Year Award, but also manages to emerge in the top 6 most popular cars list. It’s the only car which is not from the mainstream segment to make it so high up in the list. While the whole world approves of both i8’s performance and green credentials, its emergence as the winner of the Motoroids Awards shows that the Indian car enthusiast is discerning enough to appreciate the green advantages of a Hybrid powertrain. Kudos to both BMW and our audience for this one! The i8 got an approval from 12% of voters with 2,093 total votes
First runner up : Lamborghini Huracan
After appeasing their guilty conscience, the discerning Motoroids reader went straight onto the option of ticking the last standing naturally aspirated supercars to show where his heart really is. The Huracan won 10% of all voters with 1,665 total votes
Second runner up : Audi RS7 Sportback
The face lifted RS7 Sportback arrived in India this year, and it’s our second runner up in the Performance Car of the Year Award. This is one of the surprises we were talking about. It’s not the most talked about car out there, but when we drove it last year, we immediately realized that the RS7 Sportback is one of THE fastest cars you can drive on Indian roads. It beats almost every supercar hollow with its ability to pierce unfazed through the horizon at a warp velocity. We wonder how, but the audience knows it, and have given the car their approval. The RS Sportback gets 6% of all voters’ approval with 1,041 total votes.
We would also like to take this opportunity to mention the winners in their respective classes to give credit where it’s due.
Entry level car of the year : Renault Kwid
Premium Hatchback of the year : Maruti Suzuki Baleno
Crossover of the year : Hyundai Creta
Premium SUV of the year : Volvo XC90 (big surprise to see that so many people are aware of and appreciate this fantastic machine)
Compact sedan of the year : Ford Figo Aspire
Hatchback of the year : Ford Figo
MPV of the year : Renault Lodgy
Here’s the full list of poll results for the Motoroids Car of the Year 2016
[poll id=”3″]
We thank our readers wholeheartedly for their participation and their erudite judgement while polling for their favourite cars. Do let us know your thoughts on the outcome, and share any findings that we might have missed out on through the comments section below.