The Indian automotive industry saw zero sales in April yet 2020 was not a dead loss

Before I start with which cars I enjoyed driving through the year, I would like to wish all automotive enthusiasts and readers a very Happy 2021! I sincerely hope that all of you can enjoy driving in the coming year and also get the vaccination as soon as possible. Of course, driving in 2020 was a lot less hectic than one presumed. And despite a few launches early in the year, the Hyundai Aura and the Kia Carnival followed by the Auto Expo 2020, which will go down in recent history as the last big bash of the industry, we never saw this coming. I remember going out on March 29, 2020 and driving through central Delhi, stunned looking at the empty roads of the capital. Having spent most of my life here, I had never seen Delhi like this.

Not that empty roads were an excuse to drive like a maniac but that brings me to the car that accompanied me for a majority of the lockdown — the Hyundai Elantra petrol. While it was launched late last year and now plays in the large sedan segment by itself after Honda withdrew the Civic, it is a lovely car. And that is not just because it looks good. A strong naturally aspirated engine, great rear seats and boot space, it really advertises the fact that you do not need a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV). It is fast, handles well and does everything it says on the label.

But we live in times where the SUV is king, which brings me to the more influential launches of the year — the Hyundai i20 & the Kia Sonet. Both these vehicles are a demonstration of what the Hyundai Motor Group is doing in the Indian market — loading small cars up with a host of tough-to-beat features and a commanding customer interest. Both Hyundai and Kia are not playing the price game anymore and that shows in the cars that they produce. Truth be told, splitting the i20 and the Sonet is like splitting hair. The third-generation i20 makes its predecessors proud and is the only premium hatchback in the market that you should buy, frankly speaking.

But as I said earlier, we live in the era of SUVs and as far as the market is concerned, and looking at the most influential new car of 2020, it has to be the Kia Sonet, which is my car of the year. This is in no way denigrating the new second-generation Hyundai Creta but the Sonet is in a price bracket that has never seen such stunning quality — a seven-speaker Bose audio system while now coming on all new Hyundai-Kia cars was unbelievable in such a segment.

In terms of fit, finish and performance, all while bringing price into the equation, the Sonet barely shades it against the i20 and Creta from its sister company. But this is solely my opinion. When it comes to awards such as the Indian Car Of The Year 2021 (ICOTY 2021) where I am proud to say I am a juror, I cannot second-guess my fellow jurors. We come from different publications and angles, some like the SUVs and others like the hatchbacks, some like me look at the infotainment system and plastic, others obsess about handling dynamics. This is what makes the ICOTY special. You can keep a tab over who wins via icoty.org.

Make no mistakes, this does not discount other launches. The new fifth-generation Honda City ticks all the boxes both as a car that you can drive and be driven around in. The next-generation Mahindra Thar, all legal issues concerning the grille aside, is a vehicle that surprises you with the stunning improvements made. Mahindra has done a stunning job on the Thar, and I can’t wait to take it on a long road journey even though Maruti-Suzuki will launch the Jimny next year (will they resurrect the Gpysy brand?).

While not a vehicle that I might enjoy driving is something that the market sorely needed, Kia is likely to bring in a smaller MPV this year. There is also the Tata Altroz, a car that shows how far Tata has come in the past few years. The Nissan Magnite will definitely blur the distinctions between hatchbacks and SUVs thanks to its entry-price.

When it comes to pricier segments, the vehicle that genuinely surprised me this year was the Volkswagen T-Roc. Sure, as an import, it is expensive but both cars — the T-Roc and the Skoda Karoq — sold out in weeks displaying that the Indian customers are willing to pay for good, high-quality products in the Rs 20-25 lakh bracket. There was the BMW 2-series Gran Coupe which despite being front-wheel drive, a reminder that BMWs can put a smile on your face like no other car brand can. In my only international driving trip this year, I drove the X5M and X6M, both vehicles that completely defied logic and physics and were utterly crazy. Mercedes-Benz wasn’t far off too, the GLE and GLS came into the market and both were great to drive and knowing that there is a bit of India on every Mercedes-Benz sold today, thanks to the work that Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) in Bengaluru does on the MBUX platform is wonderful. Audi was a bit quiet this year but the RSQ8 made sure that it was heard and 2021 will be a big year for them as well.

I’m really looking forward to 2021 and I hope you guys are too. Thanks for reading and have a superb year ahead!