Mahindra XUV700 is the 2022 Indian Car of the Year: ICOTY 2022!

The Mahindra XUV700 beat rival nominees such as the Volkswagen Taigun and the Tata Punch, among others, to win the coveted Indian Car of the Year award 2022. The Green Car of the Year category established last year returned, with the Audi e-tron bagging the top prize, beating out the likes of the Porsche Taycan and Tata Tigor EV. In the Premium Car category, the Mercedes S-Class emerged unchallenged.

The members of the jury included our editor, Sirish Chandran, as well as contributing Editor Annirudha Rangnekar. The 17th Indian Car of the Year award was a showcase for the immense leaps that the homegrown Indian automotive industry has made, with five Indian cars nominated across the three categories. JK Tyre continued to be the presenting sponsor of the event, a legacy that stretches back to the beginning in 2006.

The Mahindra XUV700, launched only in August of last year, has already made a name for itself in the Indian automotive landscape. With its rich feature set, par-breaking build and reasonable pricing, the new Mahindra was destined to be a star. Perhaps its shining moment came in the hands of the evo India staff, when we broke the National 24-hour endurance record with four XUV700s, covering 4384.73km at the finish line at Mahindra SUV Proving Track (MSPT).The XUV is also the first SUV to ever hold this record.

The XUV700 also comes loaded with features and special treats at a price point previously unheard of. With options for a turbo-petrol or diesel, manual or automatic, AWD, ADAS and various advanced passive safety features, the XUV700 lineup has something for everyone. There are the usual shiny accessories such as a sunroof, a rich infotainment suite and a roomy cabin which add to the appeal. The other contenders in the category were the Skoda Octavia, Tata Punch, Force Gurkha, Citroen C5 Aircross, Maruti Suzuki Celerio, MG Astor, Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger, Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun. To read more about the XUV700, head to our review and experience of the endurance record.

The Audi e-tron SUV won the recently established Green Car of the Year award, beating out its own stablemates, the Audi RS e-tron GT and the Porsche Taycan, and the Jaguar I-Pace, as well as the Indian contender Tata Tigor EV. The Audi e-tron came as a long overdue contender in the burgeoning luxury EV landscape in India, with a price that undercut all of its competitors. Producing 308bhp and 540Nm of torque, the Audi e-tron is no slouch either, rocketing from 0-100kmph in just 5.7 seconds, and onwards to a top speed of 200kmph. The car has a range of 359-484 kilometres on the WLTP cycle.

In the Premium Car of the Year segment, it was a one-man show, with the Mercedes-Benz S-Class bagging top honours. In fact, Mercedes dominated the category, with four of its cars, including the Mercedes-AMG A 35, AMG A45 S, AMG GLA 35 and the S-Class. The other contenders were the Volvo S60 and the Aston Martin DBX. Widely renowned as “the best car in the world”, it was difficult to see anything other than the S-Class winning the category, especially now that it is being assembled locally in India and available for a more competitive price.

Other members of the jury included Yogendra Pratap, editor at Auto Today, heading the juror's panel, as well as Overdrive editor Bertrand D'Souza and consulting editor Bob Rupani, Rahul Ghosh, associate editor, Auto Today; Dhruv Behl, editor at AutoX, Ishan Raghava, associate editor at AutoX; Aspi Bhatena, editor of Car India and Bike India; Sarmad Kadiri, executive editor at Car India and Bike India; Pablo Chaterji, executive editor at Motoring World; Kartik Ware, managing editor at Motoring World; Muralidhar Swaminathan, consulting motoring editor at Hindu Businessline; Vikrant Singh, editor at Carwale, Bikewale and CarTrade; Ashish Jha, editor at Outlook Traveller, Girish Karkera, consulting editor at Times Auto and Kranti Sambhav, editor and lead at Times Drive.