BSM Car Of The Year 2007

Yes, the lead image is that of theBusiness Standard Motoring Car Of The Year 2007 – it is indeed the Chevrolet Aveo U-VA that walked away with the top honours this year. Congratulations to General Motors India for having swung the oldest awards in the country in its favour for 2007.

It was touch-and-go for the little Chevy – if it hadn't been launched barely a week back, it would never have made it to the list of contenders for 2007. That's right – only all-new cars that have been launched within the 2006 calendar year automatically qualify to be in the running for the 2007 awards. While the U-VA might have just made it in time to be in contention, it still had to fend off some seriously strong competition to get the highest award. It was a close call for the Chevrolet, and it was only when the total points rolled in that we could convincingly declare it our Car Of The Year (COTY). Here then, is how this clever hatchback made it to the hallowed list ofBusiness Standard Motoring Car Of The Year winners. And do turn to the Motoring page of this Weekend supplement to see which is theBusiness Standard Motoring Bike Of The Year 2007 and the winners of other awards.

Evaluation

All the cars that were launched in calendar year 2006 went through our extensive test regimen for our reports in the Business Standard Motoring magazine, www.bsmotoring.com and the Motoring page in the Weekend supplement. But for the COTY evaluation, we fixed up a final evaluation drive for the entire COTY jury. The jury comprised not just theBSM team, which has racked up significant experience in evaluating different automobiles over the years, but also external evaluators who spend a remarkable amount of time behind the wheels of diverse machines giving more objectivity to our evaluation. We laid out a special COTY evaluation drive route that would give all jury members the opportunity to drive all contenders across different terrain. The route was a 300-km long loop that took in slow, congested urban roads, double-carriageways, the fast Mumbai-Pune Expressway, rough patches and even a smooth, curvaceous mountain stretch. All in all, a gruelling, all-encompassing route that subjected the contenders to a thorough assessment.

Contenders

Sticking to tradition, we eliminated variants and engine options to begin with and concentrated only on the all-new machines.

Maruti Suzuki Zen Estilo: Those who are familiar with the way we arrive at the BSM COTY will know that economy and affordability are things that can help a car through to the title. The Zen Estilo had both these factors going for it. That meant full marks (a total of 150 whopping points) earned straight away. It was obvious that the car will lose out on the performance front to stiff competition from bigger and more powerful machines. What was not obvious was the way the jury rated the Zen Estilo for subjective parameters. While the 1100cc motor earned due respect, the jury thrashed it for its notchy gearbox and dismal handling. While it was clear that the new car makes marketing sense, is not a worthy successor to the good old Zen as we knew it. The sad part is that styling, which Suzuki thinks is the selling point of car, couldn't score substantially either. The jury did appreciate the fact that the car can be bought with ABS and airbags though. If you are a prospective car buyer and you want something modern looking, economical and affordable, the Zen Estilo may still satisfy you big time – but it couldn't step into the shoes left by another Suzuki, the Swift, which had a clean sweep of the COTY scene last year.

Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia: Most of the jury members loved the Cedia. They loved the way the car looked, they spent quality time inside and were overheard talking about the traditional driving position and how much fun it is to drive. But when it came to awarding points they behaved like misers. Reason? The Cedia is late to the market and its powerplant has been calibrated for economy rather than performance. Still, the Mitsubishi scored quite well to earn the second or third spot in most performance parameters. Middle-of-the-road scoring for most subjective parameters and a non-value-for-money tag meant the Cedia lost out on overall counts. That said, it matched the Honda Civic for its handling prowess and the jury was liberal when it came to allotting fun-to-drive (FTD) points. A brilliant car that can do with some more performance. Quite a shame it comes to us at a time when an all-new model is due elsewhere in the world. Today car makers cannot blink when it comes to India – we are now getting used to launches almost simultaneously with Europe and the US (the Honda Civic and the Hyundai Verna are
examples) and it is only natural that older cars suffer in the hands of newer, more sophisticated competition.

Chevrolet Aveo: The three-box sedan from GMI was launched early in 2006 and has not done well due to various reasons – the lack of a diesel engine option is just one of them. Most enthusiasts prefer the 1.6 motor of the Ford Fiesta (if they are not inclined towards the Honda City VTEC, that is) and those who looked for extreme economy can opt for the excellent Fiesta TDCi. But the fact remains that the Aveo is a well thought out car that GM inherited from the erstwhile Daewoo lineup. The jury was not overtly impressed, but the car managed to score quite well in almost all parameters. Decent pep from the 1.6 motor gave it good performance ratings while the modern appearance, great ride quality and decent fit and finish were appreciated too. The ex-showroom price of the car is marginally over the desirable benchmark for this year and the Aveo lost out on points in this front. The story was different with the hatch-version though!

Hyundai Verna 1.6 and 1.5 CRDi: It is time we got used to the idea of a diesel car being more powerful than its petrol cousin. And when the entire jury votes the diesel a better driver's car than the refined petrol motor, then we have to take the diesel version very seriously. The contagious acceleration of the strong diesel motor earned sizzling points for the Verna and the car scored consistently on both performance and subjective ratings to finish third overall. While the diesel managed to match the petrol on most counts, it scored a clear victory in the FTD scale. And then the diesel extracted more points for its economy (stunning 15 kpl with performance runs thrown in). Hyundai's business plan for the Verna includes the older Accent and that means the cars are not as affordable as they should have been. A factor that didn't help the Verna in the COTY scheme of things.

Honda Civic: Easily the best car of the pack as long as we don't apply the rather complex COTY formula with weightages for price and fuel economy in this equation. It is as state-of-the-art as it gets and is brilliant on the move. Unlike its predecessor, the new Civic is futuristic to look at and thanks to the brilliant i-VTEC motor, it has the go to match the looks. Throw in decent ride quality and near neutral handling, and you get a car that no prospective buyer can go wrong with. The jury appreciated the several innovations in the Civic that has taken car building in India to a higher level altogether. Screaming performance and reasonable economy are things that go together with the Civic. The jury showered points on the Civic and it outscored each of its competitors this year on almost every parameter except on the price front. It scored almost a perfect ten (15, as in our case) for looks – something Hondas of the past couldn't think of. The jury was also impressed by the way the Civic handled speeds that its engine is capable of propelling it to. Very high level of equipment, safety features and excellent fit and finish were all factors that kept the score high till the heavy penalty for being expensive took the wind off the sails for the Civic. It is seriously one car that made us consider reworking the BSM COTY parameters – but then this is India and Rs 11.29 lakh ex-showroom is way too off the price paid by the average Indian car buyer. Still, what a car!

Which brings us to the one car that stood head and shoulders above the rest, the winner this year...

Business Standard Motoring Car Of The Year 2007 – Chevrolet Aveo U-VA

Squeezing in at the nick of time, steadily building up points all the way to the front and emerging a surprise winner – beating the likes of the virtually invincible Honda Civic, the almost-everything-going-for-it Maruti Suzuki Zen Estilo and the well-balanced Hyundai Verna twins. With this kind of competition, the U-VA was almost the underdog. It had nothing extraordinary going for it. For example, it is not as future-proof as the Civic, it does not have the Maruti-Suzuki Midas touch like the Zen Estilo and it didn't have the engine performance that the Verna promised. Yet it beat competitors as formidable as these.

The secret is that the U-VA did consistently well in all the parameters without emerging too strong in any single one. The performance may not be exceptional, especially when looked at it in sterile 0 to 60 kph or 0 to 100 kph terms, yet its little 1150cc motor surprised the jury with its spunky, cheerful attitude. And the best part is that it's an efficient engine that's miserly with the unleaded. In our list of subjective parameters that includes elements like drivetrain, driveability, ride, handling and build quality, the U-VA gained decent scores, which contributed to its winning total. General Motors India has equipped the U-VA with quite a comprehensive safety package as well as other comfort features, which notched up a significant chunk of points for the Chevy. And finally, the persuasive price tag, arrived at by GMI to make it competitive in the market place and also helped along by the excise duty cut for small cars, sealed the deal for the Chevy.

A small car on the outside, comforts of a big car on the inside, reasonable performance, sorted-out dynamics, comprehensively equipped with features, and more importantly, wearing a value-for-money price tag is about as ideal as it gets. That's what the little Chevy manages. And that's not all. The U-VA is an accomplished, grown-up hatchback that doesn't make its buyer feel that he has made a compromise – it's that feel-good factor, the magical element that makes the Chevrolet Aveo U-VA theBusiness Standard Motoring Car Of The Year 2007. Well done, General Motors India!

Previous Winners

2006
Maruti Suzuki Swift
2005
Hyundai Getz
2004
Honda City
2003
Mahindra Scorpio
2002
Fiat Palio